Reflections August 30

Last year in High School I took a class called Political Theory and our Summer reading book was On Human Nature by Edward Wilson. The book rappels with the pessimism found in human nature (I really wish I had brought my copy of the book down with me) and everyone in my class decided it was very cynical. One idea of his was absolute selfishness, even in the form of altruism, which many people in my class sought conflict and issue with. However, in an essay I wrote on the subject, I argued that in order to create a more perfect society, we must accept and, to an extent, embrace all of human nature's imperfections.
So, linking all that to Goffman, of course at first everyone thinks that the book is dark and cynical, but in reality it really just tries to give its reader more insight into his own actions. Goffman sees specific aspects of human nature, and reports them to us, hoping that in turn we will better know ourselves as a species. Goffman admits in the final chapter that the idea of performances were simply an analogy. Even with this information, the work does still not hold a cynical element; Goffman did what he felt was needed to push a point - to help people better understand themselves so that they might benefit in a social situation. And when did it ever hurt someone to be prepared?