> anyway, seriously, what i mean is: while the philosophical debate boils
> down to one of essence underneath the social or not, sociologists elided
> the debate by saying, "oh! what we think of as this unique substrate
> that is pre-social, is actually very social. it's the result of the rise
> of an ever more complex society in which we increasingly think of
> ourselves as unique little snowflakes. and yet we are permeated through
> and through by society, Turns out that this is actually a _effect of _
> (_instrument-effect of_) society itself. more complex society is, the
> more and more the ideology of individualism takes hold the more and more
> we think of ourselves as having the special place, like this rock we
> stand on, that is not socialized.
>
> individuation, baby. individuation.
Yes. From the sociological perspective, this is the crucial point: the very notion of an individual with a "human nature" that somehow exists prior to and outside of social relations is itself an idea that is socially created and sustained. We are individuals because--we conform to social expectations about individuality as "genuine" and "authentic".
I admit I love the irony of this: when an individualist exhorts us to "think for ourselves", that person is conforming to social norms in an individualist society; the individualist is in fact not "thinking for himself" at all.
Miles