Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development - Hardcover

Kegan, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674272307 ISBN 13: 9780674272309

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1982

Synopsis

An examination of the evolution of the self-image from infancy to adulthood discusses the individual's efforts to find meaning in life and the developmental theories of the psychologist, Jean Piaget

About this title

Review

A landmark book...ÝIt¨ proposes to integrate thought and emotion in human development and I responded to it on this double level. Breathlessly I encountered all the disparate ideas I had had about human development in the last ten years, all under one single solidly constructed theoretical roof...It is a book about meaning-making which revises one's own meaning-making in very profound ways. -- Sophie Freud Lowenstein "Review of Psychoanalytic Books"

Replete with literary allusions and personal anecdotes, this scholarly and appealing discourse represents a fascinating appraisal of the evolution of the self, devoting particular attention to the role of environmental forces which may have crucial impact on the individual. It evaluates, compares, and contrasts the contributions of Piaget, Erikson, Freud, Kohlberg, and others in a refreshing and informative fashion. Written by a clinician, the book also proposes a thought-provoking metatheory of therapy and considers the topic of depression from an evolutionary orientation. [This work is] well articulated and comprehensive in scope.--Lucille F. Halgin "Library Journal "

Kegan acknowledges a debt to Piaget, Kohlberg, and the psychoanalytic object-relations theorists. He regards his theory as a synthesis and extension of their views, resulting in a developmental theory that presents a unified conceptualization of affective, cognitive, and moral development. Individual chapters are devoted to each of six developmental stages--their growth and loss. The last chapter explores the implications of the theory for psychotherapy and for implementing growth in everyday life...The theory is elegant...There is much food for thought and many hypotheses for research in Kegan's book. If one has not appreciated the importance of meaning-making as a central concept in personality theorizing, the book might even propel one into the next stage. More likely, the reader will...obtain some important new insights. All in all I recommend the book highly.--Seymour Epstein "Contemporary Psychology "

Kegan's great contribution is his description of the powers and difficulties entailed in each of these bases for conducting relations with self and others and his systematizing of considerations involved in changing from one basis to another...Kegan's is indeed a provocative contribution!--Guy E. Swanson "American Journal of Education "

A landmark book...[It] proposes to integrate thought and emotion in human development and I responded to it on this double level. Breathlessly I encountered all the disparate ideas I had had about human development in the last ten years, all under one single solidly constructed theoretical roof...It is a book about meaning-making which revises one's own meaning-making in very profound ways.--Sophie Freud Lowenstein "Review of Psychoanalytic Books "

Robert Kegan has created a new perspective of personality development, focusing on the dynamics of the evolving self. The perspective integrates two universal human processes--meaning-making and social development--into a scheme that can be used to derive testable generalizations and simultaneously inform the practice of therapy. A very tall order which he fulfills admirably.--Chris Argyris

Kegan has written a vigorous, exhilarating, and brilliant book. If it is read with the same grace and modesty and aliveness with which it is written, it could make psychotherapy more useful, psychology richer, and speculation on the nature of being human infinitely more rewarding.--Robert L. Grossman

A major contribution to the human development literature. Like Freud, Kegan's literary style matches the brilliance of his insights.--William R. Torbert, Boston College

About the Author

Robert Kegan is the William and Miriam Meehan Professor of Adult Learning and Professional Development at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674272307
• ISBN 13: 9780674272309
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336