So too should our opinions and thoughts. Life is not static, neither should our minds be. It is impossible to violate your nature. Patrick Emerson seemed to be saying that man's relationship with society was an internally competitive one. We are solitary beings that must strive to remain that way.
Man is also a combination of the animal self and the rational self.
The animal self receives information from his innate instincts and intuition. The rational self, or trustee is the self that deals with logic and reason. The presence of these two allows the concept of egotism to participate in a larger, grand scale. All egos are involved with a greater Truth, therefore they are all connected. Self-reliance seems to open the door to all kinds of possibilities.