Individuality
How a man rallies to life’s challenges and weathers its storms tell us everything of who he is and all that he is likely to be. ~ Augustine of Hippo
A mental acquisition that produces few sweet fruits, individuality can be a compelling psychological gyre, and, along with worry, is the greatest possible waste of mental energy.
A newborn human naturally assumes a oneness of itself with the world. A sense of separation gradually dawns, fostered by those long duped to the duplicity of duality.
Via socialization a developing mind constructs a sense of distinct identity. The body becomes construed as the physical porter of the mind. (In modern societies, the soul as vitalizing witness goes untaught.)
The intuition that the mind is an identity-conferring and body-independent entity persists into adulthood. ~ American psychologist Nina Strohminger & American philosopher Shaun Nichols
It is no small irony that the strengthening sense of self occurs through a process which entangles self-identity with affiliation to others. Individuality is an outgrowth of comparisons made via mind perception to those in one’s in-group.
The idea that you are a distinct individual, with a self that makes you different from everyone else, is an assumption that people rarely question. ~ American psychologist Vivian McCann et al
