To be honest, I feel it, "death of the individual,"

almost every day, 

every time I see every body, every school child, young and old,

looking at their smart phones,

every time I hear the news that people were gunned down, murdered, and killed for no reason,

every time people mention the names of 김정은, Putin, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump,

and other dictators and bullies,

everytime news media talks about the nuclear bombs and the newest weapons 

and other killing machines.

I suppose those in power, kings, emperors, dictators have known the truth,

"death of the individual," all along in a satanic way, ever since the beginning of the 

human history, against which Jesus, Buddha, Socrates, the author of this book,

and many others preached and showed another way losing the self, being selfless,

by loving God and your neighbors.

Forgive me for my aimless rambling as an old man.

"If you are not here, I am not here." "If you are dead, I am not living."

Be aware " someone around you is keeping you alive" Everything 

is relative. Nothing exists alone. The world is beautiful because 

people love each other and share each other. They know the importance 

of others for themselves. 

Doc, I don't know how you can possibly get into agreeing with Professor Tom Oliver.

This poor guy lives as a professor who lives by the "borrowed" (not his own) authority

given by the school and barely subsisting on a salary month by month.

I can understand that he feels like he has no indivisuality.

However, let's take an example in the case of you and me.

In the fullest sense of the realistic definition, you and I are perfect examples of honorable individuals. 

We live by our own authority and do not raise our hands for a check from someone else.

We do and think whatever pleases our mind and body.

In our past and today, under some religion and political system, there are no individualities.

These people are slaves of the political or religious systems, such as in North Korea and the Mideast.

However, in Southern California, we are under nobody or systems.

We are almost every bit of independent and liberated individuals.

Does anyone or any systems tell you what to do when you wake up in this morning?

If we have to do anything, we just do our civic duties that do not erase our individuality.

Not like the old days, the new days at our noses are wide open for individuality.

It is improving and getting popular every day and every year.

Look at those people who spread bullets to other people for no reason,

or the rebellious demonstators in Hong Kong against the Chinese regime.

Not all the individualities are desirable, but we got a plenty of it with us.

Please don't say that we lost our individuality.

Selfishness and Individualism is not the same thing. I like American culture 

because of inviduslism. As far as I know, individualism is based on understanding 

others. Selfishness meant "do not care about others". In an inviduslistic society, 

no one asks you sacrifice yourself for others. But people always give in spontaneously 

for understanding others. In a selfish society, one does anything for oneself regardless

of what others will be affected by it. I think it is the best way to live together in a society.

Conforming the entirety in the name of the good to take care of selfishness has failed 

many times in religion, communism, dynasty and totalitarianism. 

The Self Delusion: How You Are Connected to Everyone Else and Why That Matters Hardcover – January 23, 2020

by Tom Oliver  (Author)

The Self Delusion makes the bold claim that our faith in the primacy and indivisibility of the individual is in fact false. On a physical, psychological and cultural level, we are all much more intertwined than we know:

- We cannot use our bodies to define our independent existence, because most of our 37.2 trillion cells have such a short lifespan that we are essentially made anew every few weeks
- The molecules that make up our bodies have already been component parts of countless other organisms, from ancient plants to dinosaurs
- We are more than half non-human, in the form of bacteria and protozoa cells and genes, some of which can influence our moods and even manipulate our behaviour
- And we cannot define ourselves by our minds, thoughts and actions, because these mainly originate from other people - the result of memes passing between us, existing before, after and beyond our own lifespans

But that doesn't mean we should all simply reject the evolutionary illusion of individualism that has allowed us to succeed as a species. Instead, Tom Oliver makes the compelling argument that we have a better chance of facing some of the big global challenges ahead, such as loneliness, social inequality and environmental damage, if we can start to understand and accept the complex connections between us and see beyond our individualistic mindsets to view our place in the world as it really is.(from Internet)

WM,

So well said.

I certainly can identify with your statement completely.

Dr. Ohn,

Thank you for clarifying the difference between selfishness and individualism.

Your input is certainly helpful to me.

Here the author, Tom Oliver, reminds all of us of the scientific facts and truths that

all human beings are much more connected in every aspect of our existence so that

he is telling all of us to wake up to help one another and to save our Mother Earth.

He certainly appears to be a sort of an enlightened guy out of the ivory tower of academia.

His hardcover book asks $27. I am not sure whether or not the book contains any

earth shaking new scientific facts. I doubt it.

Difficult topic. With a classmate of mine in a hospital in semicomatous state with cerebral hemorrhage from Coumadin for AFIB, another one suffering from compression fracture of spine, another one recovering from gastrectomy, another news of 2 year senior’s freak accidental death from fishing, only a few days ago----somebody is telling me every day we are all mortal beings and in our twighlight years. Realizing wisdom does not come with old age but consoling myself on and off from the Confucian Teaching “I could follow the wishes of my heart without doing wrong after 70.' “칠십에 종심소욕불유구(七十而從心所欲不踰矩), I am trying to live one day at a time.

Life comes with no guarantees, no second chances -Sorrow, fear, joy,love, farewell, laugh, tears --And yet, yes, living is still better. We all try to live one day at a time in our comfort zone.. Narration by A genius Cinema man from Chicago Art Institute, “Orson Wells” in his young er years

Another poem by John Donne on Death