The evolving self
by Robert Kegan · first published 1982
6mentions
2recommended by
6HN commenters
2017–2025first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
An examination of how thought and emotion are integrated in human development.
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…through the exploration of one's environment makes that person a massive winner in my book -- we just don't get there with many people these days. Check out Robert Kegan's model of adult development The Evolving Self -- his Wikipedia page has a decent summary. Most people are in the imperial or interpersonal stage, while few are in the institutional or interindividual stages (fwiw, I like Loevinger's labels better).…
on “2017 California school test scores: Why are they flatlining?” ↗Off the top of my head: (less career and more personal development) 1. Finite & Infinite Games, by James Carse 2. Flow, by Czikszentmihalyi 3. The evolving self, by Robert Kegan 4. Man's search for meaning, by Victor Frankl 5. A fine balance, by Rohinton Mistry (fiction) 6. Lila, by Robert Pirsig (fiction)
on “Which book has inspired you the most in your career or personal development?” ↗…https://meaningness.com/metablog/stem-fluidity-bridge ETA: From the (Stanford) article this thread is attached to... > Kegan (Robert) introduced his theory of self-evolution in 1982 in his book, The Evolving Self. In his later book, In over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life (1994), he presented a revised version of his theory and further discussion of the implications of his work for society. Of those…
on “Kegan's Theory of the Evolution of Consciousness” ↗…"up-front investment"). Maybe look in Kegan's wikipedia to have a better overview of what they mean by self-authoring mind (stage four in the big table) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan#The_Evolving_Self
on “What's going on here, with this human?” ↗> I know there are some fancy arguments around stretching limits of language, but none of them seemed all that sensible to me. Did you read Robert Kegan "The Evolving Self"? It was pretty popular at HN some time ago. Robert Kegan stretching limits of language and he's got a reason: he introduces some notions like "culture of embeddedness" that you just can't define in a…
on “Gödel, Escher, Bach is the most influential book in my life (2022)” ↗…opinions by social osmosis can still be intellectually honest if they land in the right sort of community, but they fall apart under social pressure. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan#The_Evolving_Self
on “Why I don't discuss politics with friends” ↗