What Makes a Person: The Seven Layers of Selfhood in Literature and Life

Maria Popova delves into Amélie Rorty’s 1976 book *The Identities of Persons* in a new essay for The Marginalian. Rorty proposes seven overlapping layers of selfhood—starting with characters defined by repeatable traits, moving through figures shaped by archetypal roles, then individuals, selves, presences, and finally the person as a unified center of choice. She suggests that how each layer aligns with the societies we inhabit can lead to either fulfillment or alienation. As Rorty observes, navigating these layers gives us a framework to make sense of the fragmented expectations placed on us today.

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