The Antinomies between the Individual and Society

Georges Palante (1862-1925), a schoolteacher and philosopher writing in early 20th century France, was an important theorist of individualism.

In this book, which began as a Ph.D thesis, he argues that the needs of individual life and social life are antinomic, incompatible. He devotes his chapters to explorations of the antinomies between the individual and society in a wide range of areas, including: psychological and intellectual life, emotional life, "voluntary activity", art, religion, education, economics, politics and the legal system, sociology, and morality.

He concludes that his "theory of the antinomies justifies individualism as an attitude of the individual in the face of society."