Why Is Individuality Important?

When Mark Twain said, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,” he implies that acceptance of the majority rather than the rejection is a matter to be questioned. Every human being is born with a natural right to be and choose what he or she desires. We have the right to make choices that will lead to an ultimate consequence and we are free to choose the actions that will lead to that desired consequence. To some, the freedom of individuality may sound pleasant and to others it may sound frightening, which is demonstrated by the quote, “If people can do, say, and be whatever they please they will make mistakes and it could be chaotic.” This is what someone who is afraid of individuality might
say. Though it cannot be easy to believe, there are people who will control our thoughts and expressions if we allow it. If we allow others to control our lives simply because we are afraid to experience our individuality we are no longer individuals; we are no longer subject to the consequences of our own actions but the by-product of someone else’s thoughts. This is a conclusion acquired from reading “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” by Thomas G. Plummer and “Propaganda Under a Dictatorship” by Aldous Huxley.
Summary
In his essay, Propaganda Under a Dictatorship, Aldous Huxley, Oxford graduate and English writer and novelist, analyzes and describes Adolf Hitler’s methods for influencing the masses to make a claim that propaganda is the greatest means by which a ruler can lead the common people. Huxley begins by describing Hitler’s shocking methods used to “move the masses.” Huxley mentions in his speech that Hitler studied the effects of “Herd-poisoning” which he acknowledges as a way to intoxicate a crowd of people with the thoughts and ideas of one leader. Huxley also states that Hitler was able to use propaganda to target his victims through emotions. The masses unlike the intellectuals do not seek rationality or answers to questions. Huxley uses the idea of intellectuals and the masses to present an intriguing argument. Huxley’s ultimate argument is how the intellectuals can preserve the idea of human individuality to prevent propaganda to control a society or “move the masses”. In his piece “Diagnosing and Treating Ophelia Syndrome,” Thomas G Plummer, former professor at the University of Minnesota and Brigham Young University, lists the different ways that students can be treated with(?) the Ophelia syndrome in our University studies. Plummer begins by introducing the character Ophelia of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Plummer explains to the reader that Ophelia, like a lot of college students today, cannot make decisions or think for herself and this is the Ophelia syndrome according to the author. Plummer states that today’s students are emulating their teachers and it leads to the loss of individuality in students. Similarly, Ophelia’s actions are subject to the instructions or opinions of others. Plummer believes strongly that college students are influenced only by the words of their teachers. Plummer’s paper gives the reader insight into how to achieve individuation in our education. This piece gives the reader advice on how to find oneself through his “prescribed” treatment plan. In closing his essay, Plummer mentions that reaching individuation may be risky but ends by asking “Which is a greater price to pay: “To think or not think?”

Analysis
In “Propaganda Under A Dictatorship” Huxley mentions to the readers that individuality is a characteristic that should be valued among society. Plummer similarly states that it’s critical for college students to spend just as much, if not more, time on studies and looking for ones true identity. Huxley’s believes that it’s important to remain an individual because when one does not have a firm belief in self-identity this allows for others to control them. Plummer’s emphasis on recognizing one’s self identity is derived from the idea that college students easily allow their teachers to mold and shape their minds. Both authors notice the frailty in granting others the ability to compel the mind. They also understand that recognizing ones individuality can strengthen them against following crowds. In order to answer the question “Why is individuality important?” the authors take a different approaches.
Plummer uses an approach in which he juxtaposes Ophelia syndrome and students in college. Plummer recognizes the similarities in Ophelia’s self-oppression and the easily impressionable minds of college students to state the problem and come up with solutions. Though Plummer’s specific audience is college students Huxley addresses his audience by stating the question, “In an age of accelerating over-population, of accelerating over-organization and ever more efficient means of mass communication, how can we preserve the integrity and reassert the value of the human individual?” (Huxley 251). Huxley’s approach to answering the question begins by stating how one of the world’s most powerful leaders controlled millions of people. Huxley recounts Hitler’s methods of commanding the masses to prove that lack of individuality leads to people who are susceptible to
brainwash.
Synthesis
So why is it important to have individuality? Wouldn’t it just be simpler to save the trouble of hard thinking and allow others to do the thinking? Jean-Jacques Rousseau made a very compelling argument when he said “I prefer liberty with danger than peace with slavery.” Every human on the planet is born with the freedom to choose and think as individuals.
We are given a certain agency that cannot be taken from us unless we allow it to. One can easily be distracted by matters of the world that restrict us from learning the true nature of one’s own self. Plummer states in his essay that he worries that the university students are not motivated to individuation (Plummer 439). Plummer’s concern gives birth to the idea that university students are more focused on being the best in their classes above all else. But a good student isn’t one who adopts the ideas of the teacher to pass classes. A good student is one who can take what he/she has learned and use it to develop thoughts and ideas of their own. In order for this to happen one must know the value of the individual. One must understand that an independent mind will prosper and is not subject to the limitations of another’s
mind. The independent thinker is one that desires knowledge above the already known. An independent thinker will not settle for the perception of others but of his or her own. Huxley supports this idea by saying, “Intellectuals are the kind of people who demand evidence and are shocked by logical inconsistencies and fallacies” (Huxley 250). The search for answers will always be a priority for an individual mind. There is no group or leader that can restrict and dominate a unique mind. Doubts exist and some are afraid to confront their doubts but an autonomous mind understands necessary doubt. If there is confusion one cannot simply settle for the answers of others. One must diligently seek to reconcile with their doubts and although they may not be completely answered, the independent thinker will stray from the crowd to seek personal revelation. “Philosophy teaches us to feel uncertain about the things that seem to us self-evident” (Huxley 250). Huxley’s statement implies that to learn about the world, we must embrace uncertainty. Individual minds seek not comfort or stability, but liberty and the beauty of freedom within. Individuation means “tolerating problems about insoluble problems rather than finding “safety” in the arms of a Polonius who offers you a security blanket” (Plummer 446). While stability is a tempting way of life, it can also be oppressive in the way that requires you to live your life. One’s true potential can never be seen if they chose to reconcile with the demands of others. “Assembled in a crowd, people lose their powers of reasoning and their capacity for moral choice. Their suggestibility is increased to the point where they cease to have any judgment or will of their own” (Huxley 249). Huxley suggests that in a crowd, one can no longer think independently and they are subject to manipulation of the mind. Huxley mentions in his essay that there is a certain comfort found in crowds. Intellectuals or independent thinkers have the ability to let go of the “hidden forces” found within “the masses”. When one choses to emancipate themselves of convenience they can find satisfaction in risk and the unknown because the intellectual mind is free to choose their own thoughts and actions.
Conclusion
The greatest impact that one can have in his/her own life is to recognize the value of individuality. In their essays, both Aldous Huxley and Thomas G. Plummer answer the question “Why is individuality important?” Individuality has a great impact in one’s life and how he or she chooses to live it. Without recognition of the importance of individuality, one would be ultimately lost in a sea of confusion. If one does not know who one is and does not live with a purpose, he or she can easily follow the masses. The problem with following the masses is that it takes away from one’s right to think and act independently. People should strive to find their self worth and individuality in order to be an independent mind and an intellectual thinker who cannot be influenced by thoughts or opinions of others.