individuals or society?

Question

I know its been ask before but i never get a satisfactory answer, why is it that as individuals we can be great, we are noble and caring but as a society we kill and hate each other we could care less what happends to our fellow men than we would our dog, why?

Answer 1

I hate to get esoteric about this, but I think it should begin here. If we expand our notion/definition on the sense of self to include more than just family and friends than I think we would see greater change. If we were to treat all as one, then it wouldn't make any sense to justify violence or inequity among us.

The individual should paradoxically be defined to include all people.

Answer 2

It is more of a forest and trees kind of thing. Through out history there have been instances where you get to see the best of a society. Society just needs to have an influence that needs it's collective attention; and that society needs to collectively act in an upward direction. It needs to be motivated in the proper way.

As I say there are many different examples but we will stick to just a couple. The Great Depression...Not still in it. Where did it go? It took the collective to work it's way out of that one, but we don't really look at that. It happened so long ago.

Anyone remember 1989? The Berlin wall came down. Talk about a party. People all over the world celebrated that one. That was a time when there was a huge shift in world thinking.

If you want to know the real answer to your question, you are the reason society isn't great...or was it me. Indifference is your nobility killer. So long as you don't have anyone keeping you from your box dinner or 200+ channels of goodies you don't care.

Individuals make up society, and it is a majority vote. If enough individuals look in one direction long enough then that ends up being the focus of that society. But, you need some stimulus for individuals to look with more than a passing glance.

Answer 3

One of the laws of the universe is that the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. If all the individuals within a society are honorable human beings, that society will be the same. If some of those individuals are evil, that society will be flawed. When individuals do wrong, society should not be blamed, the people who are responsible should be held accountable.

We might aim to improve the character of society, but in the final analysis, we each are only able to change ourselves. We can encourage others to do better, but each individual has to make their own choices in life.

Answer 4

Because individuals are affected by their surroundings, and in this case, mainly other humans. Since there are evil and wicked people, they would in turn have some sort of effect on how other people perceive their life and their actions. If someone is greedy and is successful at it, would you just stand by and let him have all the luxury in the world while you have nothing? Most likely not, but if there were no one to truly influence each other in a negative way, then society can be as great as an individual.

Answer 5

What is this " society" you are speaking of? Can I meet it? You have erected a false dichotomy. Societies do not hate and kill. How could an abstraction ever do that? Individuals do that. You have confused acting in concert and constructing social reality with social constrctionisim. You need to get away from the, sui generis model for society. It is not a thing in and of it's self, a thing you can blame for human ills. To paraphrase " the fault is not in our society, it is in us, each and every one of us. The distinction I have laid out, possible is subtle, but real.

Answer 6

I think you have it backwards. Usually as a society we are more caring than individuals. I think it is motivating when you see others taking action...makes you want to too and as an individual you may not feel you can make a difference; whereas, a group has more power and can make more of a difference.

Answer 7

Individually we act and feel different than a society. As a society we think as one by vote and majority wins. Where as an individual we are able to show more compassion for our fellow man than as a society. Society thinks of the whole while the individual thinks of one usually himself.

Answer 8

We are Westerners. We can be great because we have these huge egos telling us to engorge ourselves in selflessness.
Easterners put the group first naturally. They do not seek to be number one quite as much as they do to honor their elders and family.
Oh, sure, anybody anywhere can be a selfish B.... but the culture is aimed overall for the greater good.
Here, we are in fierce competition to be individually better than anyone else.

Answer 9

you want a good answer, i'll try the mob mentality of human beings, we do bad things that us alone cannot do in our right mind, if your separate that mentality, then people will learn how to think outside the box. people as a whole do not care about others because we look out for ourselves rich and poor alike, we try to get enough for our families and that was the black excuse for crime back in the 80's and 90's. singular people, they might not have things holding them down from success, they have a goal and its important to reach it, they ask the sacred word "why" and they are resourceful

Answer 10

In each individual there is the potential for good and evil, negative and positive. In every situation, for that matter, in every thought, as individuals we can control what reaction or what thinking process we choose to adhere to. Even if you are a person who strives and is motivated towards altruism, the imperfection of our nature as human beings leads us to make errors, even if our overall intention is honorable and good. If we fail at some of our personal relationships, is it not easy to fathom how society can be messed up?

There are too many children coming from parents who ignore them, neglect them and abuse them and/or teach them to hate. I would venture to say that these children, at least not all of them, grow up to be model citizens and, as future parents, these children often repeat the cycle of what they have learned. One needs to rise above and make extensive efforts to break the chains of the past to become a better person. Their environment has nurtured them to be angery and hateful. In addition, poverty and the basic struggle to exist creates an atmosphere for envy, anger and hate.

Different people and/or different societies have varying goals, which sometimes come into conflict with each other. When it is a matter of survival and/or the right to live in freedom and peace in the manner in which you choose, people are ready to stand up and kill the other in order to assure that they achieve their goal. Although, from the sidelines, one could say it is better to negotiate and compromise, in reality, there are masses who are unwilling to compromise and forever will be willing to die for their principles. It is difficult to judge about the right and wrong in this matter because, as an individual, we all could find at least one reason that we would be willing to fight and die for. At least, even if you believe it is wrong to kill someone, would you not be willing to protect your children from terror and death, against someone who is willing to kill them in order to achieve their goals, no matter how screwed up those goals might be? Also, different societies have varying mentalities and values. It makes it difficult to understand, yet alone to find a way to live peacefully with each other.

The bottom line, the individual can strive for the greater good and try to promote the greater good in others. It is the beginning of a better society.

One last note, the contemplation of the individual and society is a luxury. If you are struggling to exist, it is not a big question in your mind.