BBC
A History of Ideas: Erving Goffman and the Performed Self
Stephen Fry on Goffman and the Performed Self
Do we all metaphorically wear a series of different masks to present ourselves to the world in the best light possible? The sociologist Erving Goffman thought so. He went further to say that we play different roles depending on the situations we find ourselves in. But what about our true selves, the person behind the masks? Do they even exist? Or are the masks all we’ve got?
Want to hear more on this topic?
Here’s the whole episode from A History of Ideas – Philosopher Jules Evans on Jung and the Mind.
Do humans really live in anguish because they’re ‘condemned to be free’? This was a view put forward by the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
Do we all metaphorically wear a series of different masks to present ourselves to the world in the best light possible? The sociologist Erving Goffman thought so.
What can we know for certain? Can we trust what our senses are telling us? Can we even trust absolute truths, such as those of mathematics? What if our brains are being manipulated to make basic mathematical errors?