Customer Reviews

The Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development

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The Evolving Self is one of the best books that I have ever read. Kegan's eloquent presentation of the dynamic process of human consciousness evolution is incredible. Kegan presents the very best of developmental theory, while at the same time acknowledging and avoiding the trappings that such a perspective tends to fall into. Developmental theory can often lead to a very compartmentalized view of people, but Kegan's emphasis on the person as a meaning-making process sidesteps these tendencies. Throughout his writings, I felt an incredible empathy with the undercurrent of evolution sliding under all personality. Rather than using his model to categorize myself and those around me (as I have an unfortunate inclination to do with developmental theory) I instead found myself identifying with the universal forces that run through all human beings which express themselves in and as the developmental stages. This might perhaps seem like an unimportant semantic shift, but in actuality it discloses a monumental difference between these two stances. This is true precisely because my ability to help another is proportional to the degree to which I can identify with them and their struggles. The warmth of this genuinely empathetic approach to psychological development is refreshing and liberating.

A challenging comprehensive look at human development through the lense of "meaning making" which Kegan asserts is the fundamental human activity. Not interested in developing the five (six if you count the birth stage) stages so much as describing the dynamic of forming (and dissolving) the negotiated "truces" between the need for inclusion (assimilation) and the need for differentiation. On this point, Kegan includes the feminist concern that most developmental research has been done on male subjects (who tend to test out on the differentiation end of what Kegan believes is a continuum) and includes the notion of assimilation in his dynamic helix (the paperback cover drawing is enormously descriptive of the text inside). Kegan is interested in the person who is doing the meaning making and his theory has enormous applicability in the therapeutic project: we are helping a human person whose ability to make meaning of their lives is temporarily in crisis (often because of the very proces of meaning making itself). One should expect this type of crisis because meaning making by its very nature is a process in evolution: various "made meanings" contain within themselves the components of an as yet unrevealed meaning that will come about in the future. When it begins to emerge the human experience will be one of loss of meaning in the service of the new meaning that is to be made. Wonderful, reverential treatment of the subject as meaning maker. Challenging to therapists to maintain their human touch and not pathologize the client by thinking that the present crisis is regression; rather the present crisis is an instance of the attempt to make meaning. Book is difficult to read because the thought is so condensed and well worked out and because the vision of the author challenges the reader's own made meaning. Tod S. Laverty, OFM, MS. E-mail-rogerotodi@aol.com for further thoughts on this or author's other book In Over Our Heads (reviewed elsewhere on the web).

I happened to read Kegan's, "In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life," prior to reading "The Evolving Self." While both books were very good, I don't think I gleaned a whole lot of additional insight from "The Evolving Self." So, if you are busy and can only afford to read one or the other of these two books by Kegan, I recommend you select "In Over Our Heads."

This book provides an explanation of the evolution of our sense of self in several dimensions: moral, emotional, intellectual etc. Kegan is an unabashed apologist for Piaget's perspectives on differentiation, but his context Is that of the human as a meaning-making being, and his treatment avoids pathology in favour of a humane, holistic, evolutionary approach.

As other reviewers have said, the language is sometimes inaccessible and borders on the turgid at times, but my sense is that this is a by-product of Kegan's commitment to a holistic unfolding of his thesis. Even though it has nearly 30 years of age on it, this work rewards the reader with a deeper understanding of important dimensions of our shared humanity, which in turn allows a greater depth of respect for the individual.

Another thing that may be of interest: for me, Kegan's treatment of the subject, including his emphases on biology, evolution and self in action, have many correspondences with the work of Humberto Maturana, the biologist. Maturana speaks of "human doings" (rather than human beings), and reading Kegan in the light of Maturana's view of the autopoietic nature of biological life and his notion of close structural coupling illuminate Kegan's "balancing" of the different dynamics of inclusion and autonomy in a rich way.

Now a word of warning: the Kindle edition is a decidedly inferior ripoff. Numerous times, illustrations are missing, replaced with a terse "to view this image, refer to the print version of this title". Who do these people think they are? It seems like sheer thoughtless laziness on Harvard's and/or Amazon's part; the kind of arrogant laziness that large corporations pretending to compete in a monopoly or "cozy oligopoly" marketplace seem to think they can get away with. This omission greatly subtracts from the reading experience and to me is tantamount to misleading and deceptive conduct. Don't buy the Kindle, get it from your library.

Comprehensive, Brilliant, highly Creative and introduces a vocabulary for human development that plugs into so many important theoretical and practictical domains. A year before this book came out, Ken Wibler wrote "The Atman Project" which articulates a very similiar vision from a slightly different angel.

First, make no mistake..."The Evolving Self" is a challenging book. Especially from a linguistic point of view, this excellent book is difficult. That being said, there is simplicity in terms of Robert Kegan's core messages on the other side of the complex language and thought processes found over the course of this book.

"The Evolving Self" is about human, and personality, development. Read in conjunction with another excellent book on development and change, "Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution" (published in 1974), a set of "meta-themes", or themes about themes...emerges related to human development.

Kegan's book (the subject of this review) was published in 1982...the fact that this book and "Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution" were published more than 25 years ago is not meant to suggest that no good books of this type have been published in the recent past, but rather that "The Evolving Self" and "Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution" have stood the test of time well.

From my perspective, Kegan covers two fundamental topics in this book, (1) "meaning-making," and (2) the evolution of self as an activity...a process and a motion. While these two topics may seem abstract at first glance, they make sense in the context of the models and stories encapsulated in this important book.

The first fundamental topic of this book, "meaning-making," represents the manner in which people make meaning of events...more or less a process by which an event or action "turns into" an event or action from the point of view of a person. In other words, how a person makes meaning of an event or action.

The second fundamental topic of "The Evolving Self," that of the evolution of self as an activity, reflects a philosophy or viewpoint that recognizes/views the world as being made up of processes as much as entities. Kegan notes that this viewpoint is common across the Chinese culture, but less frequently found in other cultures...thus, "seeing" the world in this manner may take practice from those not of the Chinese culture.

Put another way, Kegan states, "This book is about human being as an activity. It is not about the doing which a human does; it is about the doing which a human is." This may sound complex, but the panorama of Kegan's writing and thinking elucidates the importance of this distinction.

Thus, the simple messages of Kegan's book, on the other side of the complex linguistics found in the book, are these, (1) different people "make meaning" of things and people in different, somewhat predictable ways, and (2) the manner is which a "self" evolves follows an evolutionary pattern.

I highly recommend this book...it will likely require a significant investment of time and thought to make it through the book in a meaningful way, but it is well worth the effort.

It's hard to exaggerate how good this book is. I am reading it as part of a Masters class in developmental psychology and it is simply brilliant. Whether reading it for personal awareness or insights into client problems, it provides an overview of developmenal theories, while proposing its own elegant understanding of the lifelong spiraling cycle of evolution which is life. It is worth any effort and deserves multiple readings. Buy it and its companion book How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work by Keegan and Layhe. It provides a step by step process that can be used for non work-related areas of growth as well as work-related.

In the fall of 1981 I received a Merrill Fellowship to the Harvard Divinity School. I went expecting to take a seminar with Lawrence Kohlberg, the deservedly famous scholar who worked in the area of human development. I had even bought a book he wrote in anticipation of the experience. I found out that he was on leave and would not be at Harvard at all during the semester I was there. With great disappointment and reluctance I enrolled in a course that was recommended to me by Professor Sharon Parks.

I drug myself off (thinking I needed to be drugged!) to the suggested class. Lo and behold, the gifts of Robert Kegan were astounding. I was soon mesmerized by him and the insights that he offered to the ones in his lecture hall. The insights were, even then I think, being formulated into the manuscript that became this book.

What can I say about this book? I guarantee you will NOT be disappointed. As an American Baptist pastor I soon put the insights I gained into practice as I used what he taught me in the development of rites appropriate for the stages of growth into rites of passage of those I served in the congregation who had permitted my sabbatical leave in the first place. This was something new for American Baptists who usually recognize birth, marriage and death with ceremonies but few others. I still remember how I developed a rite for a dentist who was moving from an office poorly located to serve his patients into a new office. It was a holy experience and I shall never forget it. I remember that experience, in non-traditional language for an American Baptist, as a sacrament of meaning. It was rooted in the insights I learned from Professor Kegan! Buy and read. You just may be challenged to develop rites appropriate for your life and growth. I always have a warm memory when my pastor, T. Wyatt Watkins, presides at such a rite in the First Baptist Church of Cumberland, near my home in Indianapolis. If all this can happen to me as the result of this book then buy it, read it and experiment with your own rites!

Classic work on the evolution of the self that considers Piaget, Erikson, Kolhberg etc. Very easy to read - and extremely helpful in understanding our differences and self-development.

In this very readable text, Kegan provides descriptive, anecdotal examples of
his arguments, making his concepts easier to grasp.