Dividual

Introduction to the Dividual

The term "dividual" stems from the Latin dividuus, meaning divisible or separated. While Western Enlightenment thinking conceptualizes humans as "individuals" (literally meaning "not divisible"), the framework of the dividual argues that persons are constantly fractured by their relationships, social contexts, and modern administrative systems.^[1]

This concept has two primary, distinct genealogies in academic literature: the anthropological (relational) dividual and the sociological (algorithmic/control) dividual.

Anthropological Perspectives: The Relational Self

In anthropology, the concept of the dividual was pioneered to explain non-Western constructions of personhood that do not align with Euro-American individualism.

Melanesian Dividuality (Marilyn Strathern)

The most prominent anthropological use of the term comes from Marilyn Strathern's research in Melanesia. Strathern argued that Melanesian people do not conceive of themselves as bounded individuals. Instead, they are "dividuals"—composite sites of relationships, kin networks, and the exchange of gifts.^[2]

• Composite Personhood: A person is seen as the plural and composite site of the relationships that produced them.

• Partible Entities: Aspects of a person can be detached and given to others (e.g., through gift-giving), thereby extending their personhood into the community.

South Asian Dividuality (McKim Marriott)

Preceding Strathern, anthropologist McKim Marriott explored the concept within the context of Hindu society in South Asia. Marriott suggested that people in these societies are "dividuals" who are constantly absorbing and transmitting physical and spiritual substances (like food, words, and blessings) through their interactions with others.^[3]

Philosophical Perspectives: The Societies of Control

In contemporary philosophy and critical theory, the "dividual" takes on a darker, more structural meaning, primarily articulated by the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze.

From Discipline to Control

In his essay Postscript on the Societies of Control, Deleuze builds upon Michel Foucault's theory of "disciplinary societies" (which molded individuals in enclosed spaces like schools, factories, and prisons). Deleuze argued that society had transitioned into "societies of control."^[4]

In these new control societies, enclosures are replaced by open, continuous networks. Consequently, the whole, cohesive "individual" is dissolved into a "dividual."

Characteristics of the Deleuzian Dividual

• Data and Passwords: Instead of a cohesive identity, the dividual is represented by codes, passwords, and access rights.

• Modulation: Instead of being molded into a specific shape, the dividual is constantly modulated and tracked.

• Samples and Markets: People are no longer seen as a "mass" of individuals, but as data banks, markets, or "samples" to be targeted and categorized.^[5]

Contemporary Relevance in the Digital Age

Deleuze's prophetic essay has made the concept of the dividual highly relevant in the modern era of Big Data and algorithmic surveillance.

1. Surveillance Capitalism: Tech platforms do not track "individuals"; they track dividuated data points (clicks, watch time, location data) to create predictive models.

2. Biometrics: The fragmentation of the human body into scannable metrics (retina scans, fingerprints, facial recognition points) perfectly illustrates the physical division of the subject.^[6]

3. Financialization: Credit scoring systems abstract a person's financial reliability into a floating, constantly updating number that dictates their access to housing, capital, and employment.

Backlinks

• Animism — The Animism note explicitly uses the concept of the "dividual" to describe how identity in animist worldviews emerges dynamically through reciprocal interactions with other beings, rather than from isolated internal characteristics. The anthropological dividual (Strathern, Marriott) provides the framework for understanding animism's relational epistemology.
• The Dividual and the Triṃśikā - A Comparative Analysis — Maps the structural parallels between the dividual concept and Vasubandhu's Yogācāra psychology, showing how both deconstruct the bounded individual into a dynamic, relational process.
• Postscript on the Societies of Control — The primary source for the Deleuzian (philosophical) genealogy of the dividual. This essay introduces the concept of the dividual as a subject fragmented into data points by societies of control, providing the surveillance-capitalist framework that the Dividual note explores in its second section.

References