Ferdinand Buisson and Individualism
Individualism naturally finds its place in a secular society based on the free consent of individuals. Ferdinand Buisson, one of the founders of French secularism understood individualism as both a constitutive & contradictory element of secularism. While he rejected secularism when it imprisone...
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| Published in: | Archives de sciences sociales des religions Vol. 48; no. 124; pp. 5 - 18 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | French |
| Published: |
01-10-2003
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Individualism naturally finds its place in a secular society based on the free consent of individuals. Ferdinand Buisson, one of the founders of French secularism understood individualism as both a constitutive & contradictory element of secularism. While he rejected secularism when it imprisoned the individual in his selfish self, he saw it as part & parcel of the struggle for the freedom of conscience. The Republic freed the individual from clerical control & ancestral traditions. Secular morality tried to operate a synthesis between solidarity & individual responsibility. Buisson did not forget that the conviction which motivated the secular activist was a principle of individuation. Indeed, for this liberal Protestant, the vision of human universalism was carried by single individuals. Adapted from the source document. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
| ISSN: | 0335-5985 |