Description
Book SynopsisThe Transformative Self explores three of life''s perennial questions: How do we make sense of our lives? What is a good life? How do we create one? In this comprehensive volume, developmental psychologist Jack J. Bauer responds to those three questions by integrating three main areas of study-narrative identity, the good life, and personal growth-to present an innovative model of humane flourishing and human development. The Transformative Self synthesizes an extensive range of scholarship, from scientific research in psychology to work in philosophy, literature, history, cultural studies, and more. The result is a cohesive framework for understanding how personal and cultural stories shape our development and how, through those stories, we might cultivate the growth of happiness, love, and wisdom for the self and others.
Trade ReviewThis is a breathtaking and courageous book--perhaps the most original work in personality psychology in the 21st century. Building on developmental psychology, philosophy, and literature, it explores an enduring dimension of human nature--the search for growth in the pursuit of both happiness and wisdom. Not since Maslow has a psychologist so effectively portrayed the inner lives of individuals who organize their life stories around the search for self-understanding. Simultaneously scientifically rigorous and deeply felt, this magnum opus is invaluable to any reader interested in how we strive for and make meaning in our lives. * Jefferson Singer, Dean of the College and Faulk Foundation Professor of Psychology, Connecticut College *
Jack Bauer's conception of human lives is both scholarly and deeply humane. His central subject is growth--the manifold ways human beings can grow good lives and create good life stories that affirm the growth of happiness, love, and wisdom. Drawing deftly from philosophy, literary studies, history, and cutting-edge psychological research, Bauer builds a generous and thought--provoking theory, articulating a vision that grows in intricacy and beauty, step-by-step, chapter-by-chapter, over the life course of this extraordinarily insightful book. * Dan P. McAdams, Henry Wade Rogers Professor of Psychology, Northwestern University *
Jack Bauer's magisterial book of a life-time addresses the probing and ever-timely question of what constitutes a good life. Injecting a glimmer of optimism into today's troubled and uncertain times, Bauer argues that we all have the capacity to craft a narrative of personal growth that unlocks the door to happiness and wisdom. * Paul Wink, Nellie Zuckerman Cohen and Anne Cohen Heller Professor in Health Sciences, Wellesley College *
Table of ContentsSection I: The Transformative Self as a Good Life Story 1. Introducing the Transformative Self 2. The Cultural Master Narrative of Personal Growth 3. Growth and the Good Life 4. Growth and a Good Life Story 5. Growthy Tones in Personal Narratives 6. Growth Themes in Personal Narratives 7. Growth Structure in Personal Narratives Section II: The Person Who Has a Transformative Self 8. Transformative Traits, Motives, and Experiences 9. Transformative Self-Regulation and the Quiet Ego 10. Growth in the Hard and Soft Margins of Society Section III: The Development of the Transformative Self 11. Nature, Nurture, and 'Ndividuality: Why Personal Growth Is Possible 12. The Transforming, Transformative Self: Identity Development 13. The Aging, Transformative Self: Growth Is Not Just for the Young 14. Stages of Transformative Self-Authorship Section IV: Shadows and Illumination 15. The Dark Side of the Transformative Self 16. Authenticity, Self-Actualizing, and Self-Authorship 17. The Self Beyond the Story References End Notes
