The Discursive Production of Selves

Abstract

The concept of `Self' has been the focus of much recent work in theoretical psychology. Difficulties have been at least partly due to the polysemous character of the concept itself. In this paper an attempt is made to clear the ground for more sharply focused psychological studies of personhood by distinguishing Self-1, roughly the philosophers' concept of personal identity, from Self-2, the Self that Goffman referred to in his studies of Self-presentation. The argument turns on the assumption that both concepts of Self are indispensable both for understanding person-hood and for living as persons. Problems and misunderstandings stem from the use of inappropriate grammatical models for understanding person talk. Setting up more adequate models allows one to propose a social constructionist account of both presented Selves and of the sense of subjective singularity.