The self and the group

The idea of "agency" in philosophy seems unnecessarily complicated (surprise, surprise). I think the capacity for individualized choice and action in the world needs to be biologized, which will require a bit of courage by philosophers because it is a "politically incorrect" idea.

Connecting "being-for itself and "being-for-others" means affirming the biological origin of most of our social behavior. That is the"renewal of agency" we need. And it addresses the "alienation" that philosophers go on about.

I think the self and the group are best understood in the following quote by the great father of sociobiology Edward O. Wilson: "Within groups, selfish individuals beat altruistic individuals, but groups of altruists beat groups of selfish individuals."

No one is more individualistic and self-starting than I am, and if I can accept this explanation of agency then any narcissist, extreme libertarian, or person with authority problems can accept it.

There is great room for individual self-expression in the natural preference for group-selection which evolved over great time in human nature and in human behavior. What we need to do, as the great psychometric psychologist Raymond Cattell pointed out, is understand the difference between social and antisocial individualistic behavior, especially with geniuses, which was Nietzsche's concern.