Re: are you pondering what I'm pondering?
schwaja3@wfu.edu
Thu, 15 Feb 96 00:36:38
Since no one has said anything about #3 yet...
Goffman writes, regarding W.I. Thomas' dictum:
"This statement is true as it reads but false as it is taken. Defining
situations as real certainly has consequences, but these may contribute very
margianlly to the events in progress"
I take this to mean that although Thomas' dictum seems to be true in
theory, it is not the case in practice. Goffman seems to think that those who
are in the situation do not create it themselves; they act according to what
they believe the situation ought to be. Goffman believes that the society the
actors are in creates the definition. Through socialization of expected
behavior, etc. for the specific society we live in our actions are guided (poor
grammar). I can't say that I agree with Goffman entirely. This lends a
mechanized view of human behavior. It would seem to suggest that we merely
react to situations without the benefit of minded behavior.
Goffman also takes the opportunity to dismiss this debate from his
introduction. He says social life is confusing enough not to complicate it with
further contemplation. He writes: "Instead of asking what reality is, he
[William James, the tradition he is following] gave matters a subversive
phenomenenolgical twist...'Under what circumstances do we think things are
real.'" It almost seems like a restatement of Thomas' dictum "If men define
situations as real, they are real in their consequences." The basic difference,
I suppose, is where we derive reality from -- the society or our social
interaction with others and with ourselves.