The Evolving Self
Problem and Process in Human Development
The Evolving Self Problem and Process in Human Development
By Robert Kegan
- Explores how humans make meaning of life. Robert Kegan examines the lifelong process through which individuals interpret experience and construct understanding about themselves and the world.
- Introduces a developmental framework for growth. The book outlines how meaning-making evolves through stages from childhood into adulthood, expanding our capacity to handle increasing complexity.
- Examines the tension between connection and autonomy. Kegan shows how people continually negotiate the balance between belonging with others and developing an independent sense of self.
- Illuminates the inner experience of development. Through rich psychological insight, the book describes the challenges, disruptions, and breakthroughs that accompany personal growth over time.
About
The Evolving Self focuses on the most basic and universal of psychological problems, the individual’s effort to make sense of experience and to make meaning of life. According to Kegan, meaning-making is a lifelong activity that begins in earliest infancy and continues to evolve through a series of stages encompassing childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The Evolving Self describes this process of evolution in rich, human detail, focusing primarily on the internal experience of growth and transition, its costs and disruptions, and its triumphs.
At the heart of our meaning-making activity is the drawing and redrawing of the distinction between self and other. Kegan shows that each meaning-making stage is a new solution to the lifelong tension between, on the one hand, the universal human yearning for connection, attachment, and inclusion, and, on the other, the desire to be distinct, independent, and autonomous. The Evolving Self is the story of our continuing negotiation of this tension.
Reviews
“A major contribution to the literature of human development. Like Freud, Kegan’s literary style matches the brilliance of his insights.”
William R. Torbert, Boston College
“Here is a bright, ambitious mind, integrating old ideas from such diverse sources as Freud, Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg into an original synthesis. Kegan seems to be the first Neo-Piagetian who is able to look at the evolving person as more than a succession of systems but as a whole human being.”
Ernest S. Wolf, M.D., Author, Treating the Self: Elements of Clinical Self Psychology
Bring These Ideas Into Action
If the ideas in this book resonate with your interest in leadership, development, and human potential, there are two ways to go deeper.
Purchase the Book. Further explore Kegan’s ground-breaking framework. Buy on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Self-Problem-Process-Development/dp/0674272315/
Contact TDE. Bring these ideas to your organization through keynotes, workshops, and leadership development experiences. Speak with a Leadership Expert.