individens

Individens is the possessive form of the Swedish noun individ, meaning "the individual" or "of the individual." It is used to indicate ownership, attribute, or relation to a single person, and appears in a wide range of contexts from everyday language to formal discourse.

Etymology and grammar: Individ derives from the Latin indivisus, meaning indivisible, and has been integrated into Swedish vocabulary with the standard possessive suffix -ens to form individens. The construction is typical in Swedish for marking the genitive or belonging: individens rätt, individens integritet, etc.

Usage in language: In legal, administrative, and ethical texts, individens is used to refer to the rights, duties, or characteristics of a single person. Common phrases include individens rättigheter (the individual's rights), individens integritet (the individual's integrity/privacy), and respekt för individens autonomi (respect for the individual's autonomy). The form is also used in scientific writing when discussing personal attributes or phenomena at the level of the single person.

Philosophical and ethical relevance: The concept of the individual and their rights is central to liberal political philosophy and human rights discourse. The phrase individens autonomi often appears in debates about privacy, consent, bodily integrity, and the balance between individual freedoms and collective interests. While the term is a grammatical tool, it signals the continuous emphasis on the dignity and sovereignty of the person within social and legal structures.

See also: individuality, autonomy, personhood, privacy, rights.