Individualism Vs. Conformity?

Individualism, or a favor of freedom of action for individuals over the collective, stands to be improved in this modern society. First, individualism allows for an elimination of general ignorance not possible through conformity. Too often in more recent years, people have chosen to follow conventional standards exactly, that is to say, they simply conform to the ideas and beliefs of others. To follow the crowd is synonymous with a rejection of new knowledge in life, because all people will ever know is what others tell them. If this sheep-mentality is allowed to continue, the creation of new ideas and discoveries in the form of more individualized creative though could be staunched entirely. Second, unlike conformity, individualism allows …show more content…
Many of the greatest minds of history were self-proclaimed individualists who cast off conformity, which allowed them to expand their minds. Take, for example, biologist Charles Darwin, best known for his theory of evolution. Darwin rejected. Had he not have cast off the idea which existed in his time that organized religion was the only answer to any question– an idea that most people conformed to without second thought– the idea of evolution would have never come about. Besides Darwin, another well-known individualist is the Greek Philosopher, Socrates. Socrates is best known as the man whose teachings pioneered the path for many others to expand their minds. What is unknown to much of the world, however, is that as a child, Socrates’ father had willed him to join into the family masonry business. If Socrates had followed his father’s wishes and continued a family business– rather than his chosen path to head off into the world alone to broaden his mind and share his wisdom with the world– the Socratic Method used by teachers and students alike would have never come to be. In similar fashion is the example of Chemist Marie Curie. Best known for her work with radioactivity, Madame Curie cast off the social convention that women were not scientists. However, had she held a frying pan and rotisserie rather than flasks of Polonium and Radium, the world would not have many of its largest advancements to medicine. A final example, quite possibly one of the most well-known individualists in history, is Confucius. As a child, Confucius never attended school, as an alternative he sought knowledge on his own. Once he had become enlightened, he continued his repudiation of collective school rooms. Instead, he shared his teachers with those who sought him to learn for themselves. He became a brick on the path to knowledge,