individui

Individui refers to the plural of individuo in Italian and is used across disciplines to denote a single, distinct entity considered apart from others. In everyday language an individual is a person, but in biology, anthropology, sociology and statistics it can denote any single living being, a data unit, or a legal subject.

Etymology: the term derives from Latin individuus, meaning indivisible, and was adopted in philosophy and science to indicate a unit with numerical identity that cannot be reduced to a different entity.

In philosophy, the concept of individuation concerns what makes an entity the same individual over time and what differentiates one individual from another. The problem of individuation explores criteria beyond species or genus, such as material constitution, causal history, or spatiotemporal relations that establish numerical identity.

In biology the individual is a distinct organism, typically capable of independent life. Individuals arise through reproduction, but in organisms exhibiting modular growth, cloning, or coloniality the boundaries of individuality can be contested, and debates may address what counts as a separate unit.

In the social sciences and law, individuals are seen as bearers of rights and responsibilities and as units of analysis in research and policy. Data about populations are collected and reported at the level of individuals, even when later aggregated, and considerations of privacy relate to the protection of information about identifiable individuals.

See also: individuality, person, identity, autonomy.