Bilimname

Öz

The term individual, denoting "a unique entity that cannot be divided without losing its distinctive qualities," (TDK, 1998) is a Latin origin term. Until the 17th century, individual, translated literally as "indivisible," was used in the context of physics to represent the smallest indivisible matter, instead of the atom. From the 18th century onwards, the term individual began to be used in social sciences (Williams, 1985, pp. 161-165). Naturally, the meaning attributed to the individual in the sub-disciplines of social science varies. However, similar to how atoms constitute matter in the natural sciences, individuals are considered to constitute society in the social sciences (Lindsay, 1935, p. 677). Therefore, in the social scientific context, it can be argued that there is a general consensus that the individual is the smallest unit of society, similar to the atom in the natural sciences. Consequently, an individual can be defined as "an entity constituting human communities, carrying similar traits to other humans while also possessing distinctive features" (TDK, 1998). However, there is no consensus in the social sciences regarding the relationship of the individual to society. For example, in sociological thought, in addition to the Weberian perspective, which prioritizes the individual methodologically in this dichotomy, there is also the Durkheimian paradigm that prioritizes society, termed as sociologism. Individualism, as a philosophical doctrine, advocates for the priority and superiority of the individual over society and social institutions, especially in politics, economics, and religion. It implies shaping social institutions as a whole based on the individual's preferences and demands. Lukes, who notes that individualism is built on ideas such as the nobility, autonomy, privacy, and self-development of the individual, examines it in the context of politics, economics, religion, ethics, epistemology, and methodology. Lukes refers to different types of individualism, including political, economic, religious, ethical, epistemological, and methodological individualism (Lukes, 1973, pp. 79-124). Individualization, defined as the evolutionary process of individualism, sheds light on the trajectory where tradition loses its influence on the individual, and individual choice takes precedence, making individuals the authors of their own lives (Turner, 2006, p. 284). Religious individualism signifies a direct, unmediated spiritual experience between the individual and God. According to Lukes, "religious individualism may be defined as the view that the individual believer does not need intermediaries, that he has the primary responsibility for his own spiritual destiny, that he has the right and the duty to come to his own relationship with his God in his own way and by his own effort" (Lukes, 1973, p. 94). Religious individualization, on the other hand, is a sociological theory that asserts that, in the process of modernization, institutionalized religion weakens, giving rise to individualized forms of religiosity. According to this theory, modernization does not necessarily have an entirely secularizing effect; rather, it can lead to a transformation in the way religion is lived. Prominent representatives of this theory include Thomas Luckmann (1967) and Grace Davie (1994).