Indivíduum

Indivíduum (from Latin indivīduum, "indivisible") denotes a single, discrete entity considered as a unit in various intellectual and practical contexts. As a general concept it marks the boundary between one thing and others, used to identify a person, organism, object or abstract entity distinguished by distinct properties or continuity through time.

In philosophy the term is central to discussions of identity and individuation: what makes an entity one rather than many, and how persistence and numerical identity are maintained. Classical treatments situate individual substances as primary beings, while modern debates consider criteria such as continuity of consciousness, psychological personhood, or non-composite simplicity. Metaphysical and ontological inquiries examine whether individuation is primitive or results from relations and processes.

Social sciences and political theory deploy the indivíduum as the unit of agency, rights and responsibility. The concept underpins debates between individualism and collectivism, shaping theories of autonomy, moral worth and social organization. In law the individual is a bearer of legal capacity and obligations.

In biology and ecology the indivíduum typically denotes an organism or a reproductively independent unit, though boundaries can be complex in colonial organisms, clonal lineages and symbiotic assemblages. In psychology and depth psychology, "individuation" describes the developmental process by which a person becomes distinct and integrated.

Across disciplines the notion of indivíduum remains a foundational, contested idea used to analyze singularity, persistence and the relations between parts and wholes.