“There seems to be no agent more effective than another person in bringing a world for oneself alive, or, by a glance, a gesture, or a remark, shriveling up the reality in which one is lodged.”

Erving Goffman (1971), Encounters: Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction, p. 38; As quoted by R. D. Laing in The Politics of Experience
1970s-1980s

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "There seems to be no agent more effective than another person in bringing a world for oneself alive, or, by a glance, a…" by Erving Goffman?
Erving Goffman photo
Erving Goffman 29
Sociologist, writer, academic 1922–1982

Related quotes

Peter Singer photo
Walker Percy photo
George Orwell photo

“War is the greatest of all agents of change. It speeds up all processes, wipes out minor distinctions, brings realities to the surface.”

George Orwell (1903–1950) English author and journalist

Part III : The English Revolution, § II
The Lion and the Unicorn (1941)

Tim Burton photo

“One person's craziness is another person's reality.”

Tim Burton (1958) American filmmaker

Variant: One person's crazyness is another person's reality

Terry Gilliam photo

“And it always seems to stick in one's mind more than reality does.”

Terry Gilliam (1940) American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe

As quoted in "Terry Gilliam reflects to Dreams about the making of Dr Parnassus" by Phil Stubbs http://www.smart.co.uk/dreams/parntgrf.htm
Context: We read Dover Books, because you can steal from them. The medieval imagery and iconography is so good for the imagination. Trying to describe the world, trying to describe the cosmos, trying to put it down in neat orderly fashion, unlike reality. And it always seems to stick in one's mind more than reality does.

Bruce Lee photo

“To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.”

Bruce Lee (1940–1973) Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and filmmaker
Alain photo
Ferdinand Foch photo

“There is but one means to extenuate the effects of enemy fire: it is to develop a more violent fire oneself.”

Ferdinand Foch (1851–1929) French soldier and military theorist

Source: Precepts and Judgments (1919), p. 110

Related topics