Mini Philosophy (Extra): Is life actually a stage?
This week we challenge old wisdom and have an audio video.
Hello everybody,
I hope you’ve all had a good week, and one to be capped with a good weekend.
This week we drink a cocktail made with 1/3 psychology, 1/3 philosophy, and 1/3 literature to see if there’s any life to be had in the slightly worn line, “All life’s a stage.” Possibly not.
This week, I have an exclusive video clip from an interview I had with the philosopher Bence Nanay about mental imagery. In the clip, he talks about the complex and fascinating interplay between our mental images and mental health. I was amazed to learn that those who have a high degree of mental imagery tend to have worse mental health. Those who have little to no mental imagery (called aphantasia) have much better. Dig in to see why.
As ever, thanks for your support. A new Mini Philosophy seminar is coming soon where we’ll get to talk philosophy with each other, so keep posted.
Jonny
Erving is on holiday in the Shetland Islands. He’s booked into the same hotel as he always does and is enjoyed a well-poached egg. Erving is alone, and he’s watching the hotel staff. He’s amused by how differently the staff behave when they’re talking to the guests and when they’re behind the bar or in the kitchen – when they think they’re not being seen. In the restaurant, the staff are a picture of demure, servile respectability. ‘Yessir, straight away sir, I shall speak to chef.’ The moment they think they are unseen, it’s first names, banter and normal conversations.
This true story is what inspired the twentieth-century social psychologist Erving Goffman to coin the terms ‘backstage’ and ‘front stage’ behaviours.
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