The Saturated Self: Dilemmas Of Identity In Contemporary Life [Paperback]

Kenneth Gergen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0465071856 | ISBN-13: 978-0465071852 | Publication Date: June 24, 1992

Today’s ever-expanding communications technologies force us to relate to more people and institutions than ever before, challenging the way we view ourselves and our relationships. This powerful and provocative book draws from a wide range of disciplines—from anthropology to psychoanalysis, from film and fiction to literary theory—to explore these profound changes in our understanding of self-identity and their implications for cultural and intellectual life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Social saturation" is Gergen's term for ordinary people living with constant change, bombarded by electronic messages, open to a vast range of personal relationships. Under this sensory assault, the self as a known entity breaks down and the post-modern woman or man, cast adrift in a world of limitless possibilities, advances from the "pastiche personality" to the energy vortex of the "relational self" ("the relationship replaces the individual as the center of human action"). This dizzying scenario is anchored by a discussion of "self-reflective" movies and TV shows (Woody Allen, David Letterman ) , coalescing artistic genres, anthropological comparisons, deconstructivism, with examples drawn from popular culture. Swarthmore psychology professor Gergen touches raw nerves, scrutinizing unmoored selves naked to experience in this highly stimulating, mind-expanding original work which dusts away the cliches surrounding that tiresome phrase, "the post-modern condition."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Kenneth J. Gergen, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. He is the author of, among other works, Toward Transformation in Social Knowledge (1982) and, with co-editor John Shotter, Texts of Identity (1989).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (June 24, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465071856
• ISBN-13: 978-0465071852
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible introduction to post-modernism, June 22, 2005

By 

Dr. (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saturated Self: Dilemmas Of Identity In Contemporary Life (Paperback)

While many books on post-modernism obfuscate themselves in philosophical mumbo jumbo and self-referential exercises, this is a very straightforward introduction to the post-modern condition. It is also a great introduction to social construction, and the idea meaning (including the meaning of our selves) is a socially created truth rather than an absolute. Unlike a lot of books by academics, Gergen has crafeted a very readable book, that I not only learned from but enjoyed immensly.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bewildered, Breathless and Not Grounded, August 12, 2001

By 

Stephen B. Wilson (Tacoma, Wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saturated Self: Dilemmas Of Identity In Contemporary Life (Paperback)

I found this book very interesting to read. I did not find it disturbing or brilliant. Anyone who uses the internet, watches television and videos and has been jet lagged from global travel will find this an accurate account of contemporary post-modern man's global lifestyle It has the same fun reading style and spirit as T.Friedman's "The Lexus and The Olive Tree" but with a psychosocial take rather than an economic social view. This work is not grounded in biological science and the generalizations he does make from quantum science are skewed though standard post-modern mantra as far as I know. Scientists may not relate to nature or reality directly as he argues but they do relate to mathematical inferences about nature that allow them to predict with a high degree accuracy how nature works. Otherise I wouldnt' be writing this on the computer. But then Gergen himself says that the book may be just fiction or invention not a building of ideas on top of ideas. Readers interested in the topic of self-consciousness could balance Gergen's argument with A. Damasio's "The Feeling of What Happens" and G. Edelman's "Bright Air and Brilliant Fire".Both of these works attempt to ground consciousness in the body.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking journey through the modern forces shaping "self", February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Saturated Self: Dilemmas Of Identity In Contemporary Life (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the forces shaping the concept of "self" in our post-modern society (or for anyone who thinks that he or she is above being shaped!) It is easy to read, very enlightening, and very well documented. I highly recommend it!