Independence and Symbiosis

What is the distinguishing line between being self-reliant and being independent? In Self-Reliance, Emerson wrote, “I hope in these days we have heard the last of conformity and consistency.” Conformity versus trying to be different is a state of social dependence which we believe to be more  correlated to independence rather than the proposed concept of self-reliance. In reality, everyone can be as Emerson writes, “what I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think”; everyone can be independent, each with their own unique thoughts and ideas. Whereas, self-reliance is a more physical state because you need to sufficiently isolate yourself from others and live your life doing everything on your own. And that is why you can be independent but not self-reliant in today’s world. That brings us to the point of symbiosis, which is the concept of organisms living together to benefit from each other. What Emerson seems to be describing is very much related to independence, which in today’s world, we all can accomplish to an extent. But self-reliance, on the other hand, goes against symbiosis. Everyone in this world is allowed to voice their own opinions, but mutual dependence is the basis of our survival.