fun graphic

[Katherine Morris]

On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 8:01 AM, Eric Rutberg <ericrutberg at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Not sure where I found this but it's cute graphic illustrating JL's
> principles.
>
> http://www.psychodramatraining.com/Roles1.htm
>
>
Is this really what J.L. Moreno said?! That our personalities are nothing
more than the sum of the various roles we play in life?  If that is
accurate, I am surprised that someone with a classic education like he had,
would make such a superficial conclusion. I have not read Moreno's own
writing yet, and I suspect that this is an over-simplification and
distortion of his thought (and if not, I will be very surprised that someone
with a background in philosophy would adopt such a simplistic, behavioristic
view of human nature).

The claim that personalities are developed merely through taking on a bunch
of roles even goes against simple observations. For example, we all see how
babies, humans as well as other kinds of animals, have distinct
personalities the moment they are born. There are inherent differences in
the personalities and temperaments of babies (which perhaps influence the
types of roles that they are drawn toward playing as they age). I could make
the argument that personalities are further developed beyond what is
inherent, not according to the roles played, but according to one's
perceptions and experiences in life, especially since many people feel that
they have to play roles in life that are not authentic, (i.e. not part of
their real personality) but are required by society.

Also, what about people who hide major parts of themselves from the world
because those parts don't fit into the world, meaning that there are no
roles associated with those parts; does that mean those parts are not
thought of as part of those persons personalities because no roles are ever
played to give expression and further development to those parts?

Katherine Morris
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://grouptalkweb.org/pipermail/list_grouptalkweb.org/attachments/20091220/58864bda/attachment.html>