Abstract: Since the 1990s,with the diversification of family structure and the expression of individuality,the contemporary French sociology of family has renewed its attention to the relationship between family and individual. As a result,a large number of studies and debates about the "individualization of family" have emerged. In view of the complexity of the phenomenon itself and the differences in perspectives and analysis among scholars,we present here two major opposing views on its connotation,origin and influence. One view believes that this phenomenon comes from the demands and efforts of individual actors that marks the liberation of modern individuals and the decline of traditional families,bringing about a lifestyle and a civilization that are more in line with the needs of humanity. The other view sees the technological progress,social education and institutional innovation as the main driving forces of the "individualization of family". Therefore,for individuals, "individualization" constitutes constraints and even a cause for further stratification,ethnic division and mental illness of the society. The queries and debates between the two camps reflect two problems:First,in reality,even though individual are increasingly able to pursue their own identity,they can still be judged critically by the collective socio-cultural environment in France. Second,the long-standing dualistic thinking leads to a split between micro-and macro-perspective among French academia,making it difficult to construct a unified theory over the issue. To alleviate this dilemma,this paper proposes an exchange of ideas between Chinese and French studies. The aim is to put aside the differences between the two views,and instead to approach the phenomenon in a holistic and diachronic way. In addition, quantitative and psychological methods can be introduced into future studies of the individualization within the Chinese families that may help shed some lights on how to integrate the dualistic perspectives with the localization in explaining the noticeable social transformation.

Key words: individualization of family, sociology of family, French sociology, social transformation, methodology