wallflower1926

From "Profiles in Contemporary Social Theory" by Elliott and Turner. Goffman draws on Durkheim's analysis of ritual as a basis of social solidarity when he argues that "the self has become a sacred object in modern life." Because we are living in a world that is becoming increasingly individualistic, Durkheim argued that individualism is a "common basis of morality" and is "essential as a basis of social solidarity" (Elliott and Turner 2001:98) Excerpt (Elliott and Turner 2001:98): "According to Goffman, the obligation that members of social life feel to cooperate in affirming the dignity of self and others in everyday social interaction attests to the supreme value of the individual in modern society. Also as Durkheim had suggested, Goffman argues that this felt obligation to provide such supportive worship is a primary basis of social order. Unlike Durkheim, who promoted individualism in the context of defending the right of intellectuals to think freely and criticize existing social insitutions, Goffman implies that the accommodative approach that indiviudals take towards one another's faces is a somewhat more conservative dynamic. As Goffman says in Interaction Ritual: 'Approved attributes and their relation to face make of every man his own jailer; this is a fundamental social constraint even though each man may like his cell'." Another excerpt (Elliott and Turner 2001:95): "Goffman's analysis portrays a social world in which such reverence for the self has indeed become the basis of social order. Compatible with Durkheim's view that society rests on a basis of morality, the social world described by Goffman is one in which moral norms, sentiments, emotions, and feelings - much more than thoughts and interests - drive human behaviour." I don't know if this is useful to you, but hopefully it'll help a bit.