Galen’s argument was sort of confusing because he used quotes and studies to back up other people’s arguments, not his own. The way he begins his introduction reminds me a lot of how Erard begins his, which using the “They Say/I Say” format. He states where he stands in the argument, and then totally contradicts it when he says, “I think its false-false that everyone stories themselves, and false that it’s always a good thing.” It is honestly kind of shocking when you read that line because he sets his introduction up like he’s going to explain how telling narratives about yourself is a good thing. Although this comes out as shocking, I do agree with the point he is making. If you tell your so-called “life story” to someone, you are going to leave out all the parts that make you seem like a bad person. You may only include parts where you seem heroic, or when you want to pity yourself. he He pretty much is saying that you can’t tell your own life story because its not going to be who are you, its going to be who you want to be, and that is lying. This is honestly the only part of this essay that I can truly comprehend, the other material is nonsense to me.
When he talks about the moral aspect of personal narratives, I do agree with this as well. “…identifying fault…” is a moral danger and its a “…recipe for inauthenticity…” Depending on your morals and what you believe in, it may be harder than some to tell one your life story. He basically says that every one of us lives a narrative, but we are the narrative. It is really complex and hard to understand, but the most important claims, in my opinion, are on the first and last pages. Strawson’s use of resources to back up his claims is pretty weak because he’s not backing up his claims, he’s backing up someone else’s claims.
I did not like this essay one bit, mainly because the author appears very rude and ignorant. He basically says that he’s right, and everyone else is wrong, and their opinions do not matter to him in one bit. Every person he included in this essay he basically dissed and made fun of them, but I do agree that he had a few solid points.
KUDOS to you for being so specific as you criticized Strawson’s decisions as a writer. You observed his choices and then articulated the impact those choices had on you. Fantastic job! This is a fantastic use of a free write. Well done.