"Loners"

Despite the procrastination I did finish my philosophy paper. I also learned from writing it and researching about it. When I began to write my paper I said, I think if someone tried hard enough they could be completely without companionship. For instance, someone could be disowned by their family and never leave their room or wherever they were living. However, to be completely alone is very hard. Even in The Stranger, a man who doesn’t like other people still had people that he talked to and that cared for him. Companionship also doesn’t always have to be good; you could have a bad relationship with someone but it’s still something. Therefore, I really don’t see an instance where someone could be completely without companionship. However I started to talk to other people about it and read some quotes by Karl Marx and my view changed.

The quote that really changed my view on “loners” was, “Society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand.” –Karl Marx. This quote was from his  "Notebook 2," Grundrisse the “Notebook 2” which was written during 1857 and 1859 but wasn’t published until 1939. It was the draft for his final masterwork known as Das Kapital. Das Kapital was about Marx’s theory on capitalism. The quote talks about how everyone fits into society. This quote became what I now believe about the greater question, whether or not no one can be without companionship. They are always part of a larger thing. In this quote Karl Marx explains that thing is society. Each person is a part of our society therefore is apart of the “sum”. Each individual person can stand out in the society, however no one is really alone or without companionship. Everyone has relations with someone in society whether good or bad they have some kind of relation with someone. That makes them part of the “sum” of the “interrelations” of in society. “Interrelations” are relationships within society and makes up the “sum” or complete society. Without the interrelations or companionship we wouldn’t have a society. We would only have individuals. However, according to Marx and what I believe that isn’t possible. I agree with his idea. No matter how hard someone tries to be alone and away from society they are still apart of the bigger society. They have to have some kind of relationship with the people around them whether it is good or bad. It is truly impossible for someone to be alone. This also agrees with what I believe about my question. Companionship can both help us and hurt everyone and us has companionship with someone. However, it takes an interesting look at my question. It talks about how people can be individuals within the bigger society. Which means they can be uninfluenced by the people around them. However, I don’t agree with that. I think at some point we were all influenced by the people around us. Especially as younger kids when we looked up to our elders.

            After this paper I learned a lot about society and how the world works around us and how companionship can help and hurt everyone.