From Hierarchial Chain of Being to Birth of the Modern Individual

The concept of individual that has undergone great transformations in the historical process has been influenced by the socio-political and cultural changes in Europe such as Renaissance, Reform, Enlightenment, the loss of the influence of the church or traditional religious structure, industrial revolution and popular sovereignty. This concept, which is used to differentiate modernity from tradition on social plane, includes the elements of freedom, equality and autonomy that describe the modern individual, while in traditional societies it includes the dependence on the authority and the hierarchical understanding of people. In this respect, it should be taken into account the disintegration of the hierarchical relations which are valid for the traditional structures, declining the determining role of religion and the secularization of the power, while addressing the individual which is a modern concept. In this study, the transformation of the individual, which was understood within the hierarchical chain of being in the medieval thought, with the emergence of modern political philosophy will be evaluated.