DO I HAVE A FIXED SELF?
DO I HAVE A FIXED SELF? I posted here on Colin McGinn’s proposition that Shakespeare argues that “our personality (or many personalities) is analogous to the character an actor plays on the stage.” The conclusion is that “We construct our personalities using an actor’s skills.” I can accept the view that I am always playing a part as an actor does. Indeed, I have recently come to realize that much of what I say in conversation is said for effect. But Colin McGinn also raised an additional issue. He cited Hume and Montaigne in support of the proposition that a person does not have a fixed self. Hume and Montaigne base their position on their own experience of themselves. I don’t have the same experience. I think of myself as being the same person that I was fifty years ago.
Recently I was told that I’m very good at being the same person with a variety of people. The friend telling me this said that he tends to show different sides of himself to different audiences. I definitely do that to some extent, such as not cursing around a person who’s uncomfortable with cursing, but I hadn’t given it much thought other than that. I am really interested in this topic.
Of course I think of you, Dad, as being the same person as you were 20 years ago when I was small. But I suppose I wasn’t that sharp an observer until 10 years ago. In general I think I’m very similar to the 4 year old I once was. Now I’m wondering if there are some good books on the subject of how early a child’s personality starts to show itself. Some mothers claim that their children were different even in the womb.