Individual and State

To begin with, Individual and State have two different opposing views that can be held regarding the relationship that should exist between the Individual and the governing power of the State views that, in their extreme form, can be expressed as follows: the Paternal, in which the state does everything for the individual, and the Independent. On the one hand, we are informed that it is the state’s responsibility to have a paternal concern over the morality and welfare of its inhabitants; on the other hand, we are told that the government’s jurisdiction is to defend his person and his assets.

Definition of Individualism

Individualism is a political and social branch of philosophy that studies a person’s moral worth. Although the notion of an individual may appear simple, there are several approaches to comprehending it, both in theory and practice. Individualism and its translations in other languages, like socialism and other isms, are 19th-century concepts. 

Individualism was derived in France as a source of societal disintegration and chaos, and the elevation of individual interests over public objectives. Individualism was defined by the French aristocratic political scholar Alexis de Tocqueville as a form of mild selfishness that predisposed persons to be concerned solely with their little circle of family and friends. 

Individualists advocate for pursuing one’s aims and ambitions, independence, and self-reliance. They believe that the interests of the individual should take precedence over those of the state or a social group. Individualism is frequently described in opposition to totalitarianism, collectivism, and more corporate social formations.

What is a State in Philosophy?

The state is the political structure of society or the body politic, or, more specifically, the institutions of governance. The state is a type of human organisation that is distinguished from other social groupings by its objective, the development of order and security; its tactics, laws and their execution; its territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic limits; and, lastly, its sovereignty. 

The state is, in general terms, the agreement of persons on the mechanism by which disagreements are resolved in the form of laws. The word state (or a cognate) sometimes refers to political subdivisions that are not sovereign themselves but are subject to the authority of the bigger state, or federal union, in nations such as the United States, Australia, Nigeria, Mexico, and Brazil.

Plato’s Take on State and Individualism

Here is the view of Plato on Individual and State. According to every reader of the Republic, Plato’s purpose in addressing the just condition is to elucidate the nature of the just soul, since he believes that they are equivalent. The divisions of the state, for example, correlate to divisions of the soul. 

But, because the soul is difficult to study, Socrates states in the conversation that he would first guess about the state and then use his hypotheses to clarify the essence of justice in the individual. Plato may not have felt that his utopia would work in reality or even that some of his more extreme recommendations would be desirable to implement. Still, he assigned some value to his debate apart from its illustrative role. Based on Socrates’ phrasing, it’s logical to assume Plato would have desired to see some of his ideas implemented in a city-state. 

He was dissatisfied with the city-states of his day and proposed a different model. Plato’s ideal condition is divided into three primary groups, which correspond to the three components of the soul. The guardians of philosophers govern the city; the auxiliaries are warriors who protect it; and the lowest class consists of the producers (farmers, artisans, etc.). 

The guardians and auxiliaries are educated similarly, beginning with music and literature and ending with gymnastics. For educational objectives, the arts are censored: for example, any poetry poems that ascribe heinous deeds to the gods are not permitted to be taught. Only poetry that feeds the students’ developing values can be included in the curriculum. 

Similarly, musical modes that sound melancholy, gentle, or feminine are barred from the guardians’ teaching. Indeed, life under Plato’s ideal state resembles a totalitarian regime. Socrates’ proposed laws are oppressive. People are only permitted to have one vocation – the one they are most equipped by nature. There is no distinction between the public and private spheres. 

Excess and vice of any type are highly prohibited, and only what is advantageous to moderate life is encouraged. Both riches and poverty are forbidden because they lead to sin. The Plato justice in state and individual consists in playing one’s rightful role – attaining one’s potential but not exceeding it by doing anything that goes against one’s nature. 

This is true for both the just state and the just person. Each class and individual in the just state has a distinct set of tasks, a set of obligations to the society that, if everyone fulfils them, results in a harmonious totality. 

Conclusion

As a result, it is critical to understand the individual and state philosophy which exists as a unique entity. A state is a group of people that live continuously inside a certain region and have their government. The study of philosophy enhances one’s problem-solving skills. It helps us analyse concepts, definitions, arguments, and issues. It enhances our capacity to organise ideas and circumstances, deal with value problems, and extract what is important from massive volumes of data. As a result, political philosophy may be regarded as one of the most significant intellectual subjects because it establishes standards of judgement and specifies constructive goals for using public authority.