Ideas from 'Presentation of Self in Everyday Life' by Erving Goffman [1959], by Theme Structure

[found in 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life' by Goffman,Erving [Penguin 1990,978-0-14-013571-8]].

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16. Persons / E. Rejecting the Self / 2. Self as Social Construct
Goffman sees the self as no more than a peg on which to hang roles we play
                        Full Idea: Erving Goffman has liquidated the self into its role-playing, arguing that the self is no more than 'a peg' on which the clothes of the role are hung.
                        From: report of Erving Goffman (Presentation of Self in Everyday Life [1959]) by Alasdair MacIntyre - After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory Ch.3
                        A reaction: A rather unsympathetic expression of his view, but it seems to be a widely held view among students of sociology. But then sociologists are almost committed a priori to a social and relativist view of truth, persons, knowledge, religion etc.