Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community - Literature review Example

?RELATIONAL BEING: BEYOND SELF AND COMMUNITY: A REVIEW Gergen’s book presents two modern developments within the field of psychology both in practice and scholarship. The content of the book shows discontent with the traditional view of individualism as the fundamental basis of one’s social life. Autonomous self or rational agent is criticized both by psychologists and communities from counseling and therapy sessions. The second development in psychology that Gergen presents is the search for the alternatives that would replace the individualistic view of psychological understanding of people within the society. The author therefore expands on the works of therapists including Steve Mitchell to present alternatives for the traditional rational or individualistic understanding of people within the society. Moreover, the works of feminists within the Stone Center are used within the book. The aim of the discussion within the book is to include relational orientation and understanding of an individual within the traditional psychoanalysis. This paper presents a critical review of Gergen, K. J’s book, Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. Individualism is traditionally powerful within the scholarship and practice of psychology. Individualism cannot be underestimated because it has penetrated into the practice of psychological understanding. Churchill (2011, p. 297) explain that individualism has penetrated into the process of understanding of interpersonal relationships by psychologists. In addition, the notions of thinking of psychologists, feeling and memory have been based on the individualistic view of an individual. Kearns, O'mathuna and Scott (2010, p. 199) add that the understanding of social psychologists is based on an individualistic view so much so that the use of the word ‘social” in this concepts is below merit. The contribution of Gergen’s Relational Being: Beyond self and Community to the understanding of psychology is so great because of two major reasons. Firstly McWilliams (2010, p. 79) says that Gergen adds immensely and in-depth to the critique of the individualistic view. Secondly, the author provides a very compelling alternative to the rational or individualistic view in understanding the psychology of people. The contribution that Gergen presents on the understanding of psychology is both a progress of continuous understanding and revolutionary. Through his criticisms of the individualistic notion of psychology, Gergen has added new understanding of this concept. This has been made possible through the authors’ works on self. The revolutionary contribution that is presented in the book is that of providing an alternative to the individualistic perspective of social psychology. In his contribution to psychology and the related notions of social life, the author is very persistent and thus successfully introduces an alternative for psychologists and their pursuit in understanding the human psychology within social life. The criticisms that the book presents on individualism within psychological evaluation include reevaluation of this concept with an aim of providing a deep understanding of the human mind and thoughts which surpass self. Cicognani, Albanesi and Zani (2008, p. 558) illustrate that traditional notions within psychological understanding were inclined toward self and thus an individual was viewed as a rational being. Gergen’s contribution is the presentation of the relational perspective of human beings which is goes beyond self and community. Therefore, the author provides a credible alternative with an aim of understanding human psychology and behavior in social life or context. The interpretation of individual psychology solely through rationalistic self is described by Gergen as a degradation of the community and individuals through an incomplete conventional of understanding their social well being and behavior. The contribution to the self notion in understanding people within the book is an innovative contribution to the current knowledge in psychology and its application for accurate understanding of people and communities. However, the relational perspective is a creative invention within the field of psychological practice and scholarship. This is because even though the concept of relationship is not new, its application in understanding human psychology is an invention that is presented within Gergen’s book. The invention that is presented within the content of this book was motivated by the author’s need to search and identify what lay beyond the selves within relationships. In his contribution to psychological understanding, Gergen demonstrates that all the intelligible actions of human beings are born. The author also reveals that these actions would be sustained by an individual or extinguished depending on the course of the processes and activities which occur within a relationship. According to Gergen (2011, p. 314), the integral behavior of individuals could be suppressed due to the processes which occur while engaging in active relationship with others. This illustrates that the contributions that Gergen presents to the field of psychology are not only additions to knowledge but they are in line with the current hypotheses and thus connected to the current theory. The originality of Gergen’s contribution to psychology is demonstrated by his assertion that there is no experience that would be regarded as fully isolated from other relationships. In addition to his recognition of self, the author of the book argues that isolated self does not exist because there are eminent relational factors within the society which shape the actions of individuals. The literature within the book is high in quality as the author presents very expressive thoughts through expressions such as "we exist in a world of co-constitution" as presented by Gergen (2009). The author aims at explaining how relationships matter in the lives of human lives. Gergen provides a convincing explanation on the relational model by illustrating that even during the most private moments; it is not possible to step out of an inevitable relationship. Therefore it is through the content within this book that it is learned that we are never alone even during the moments we consider as private. The organization of the book is superb with subtitles which indicate various concepts within the psychology of self and relationships. It is through the logical organization of the book that the reader and professionals in the field of psychology are convinced why we protect and nourish the processes of relating. The additions that the author presents in the concepts of psychology are presented in a non biased manner. This is demonstrated by the fact that the book is organized in a way in which it discusses critically the concept of self or individualism with a logical process of providing an alternative of relations to psychological understanding as said by Gergen (2011). It is notable that in the glorification of relations, the author describes relationships as generative. The manner in which the book is organized demonstrates its prominent features with ease. Gergen presents the concept of rationality in a purely relational manner. This reveals superiority in the organization of the author’s rigorous discussion and interpretation of concepts of psychology which relate to the understanding of self, community and relationships. The most interesting this about the book is that it is organized into multiple voices and points of view. In addition to the scholarly voice of the author, lively interaction and relationships of voices which are set side by side bring the arguments of the book in a very unique and interesting organization. These voices and points of view include quotations from other scholars and research information and presentation of vivid accounts of the experiences of the author and other professionals within the scholarship and practice of psychology. The style with which the content is presented in the book is lively and encouraging to the reader. For example poetic expressions, witty cartoons, photography, imagined critics and the voices of psychologists and scholars are presented in a logical manner. This organization helps the author in a great deal especially in his endeavor to present and clarify his view points while connecting them to credible experiences of himself and others, everyday life processes and social life in general. Therefore it can be argued that it is through the appropriate organization of the book that the author is able to logically present his arguments with a component of credibility and thus convince the readers. The advantage of Gergen’s book is demonstrated by the presentation of an outstanding argument which demonstrates a relational being as being bound by individualism which is discussed versus a being that is created, made or determined by his or her relationships. This illustrates the advantage of Gergen’s discourse as compared to the predecessors on this topic before him. Evans and Prilleltensky (2007, p. 681) argue that it is through the discussion of human beings as individuals versus being relational that the connection between these approaches of understanding psychology can be made possible. The advantage of Gergen’s discourse is an outstanding use of examples and demonstrations in explaining his points. The arguments that the author presents the readers with are backed with real life experiences and examples which enhance the understanding of the audience. In addition, the credibility of Gergen’s examples and illustrations is very advantageous because they are drawn from real life practices in psychology. Through these illustrations, the convenience of the audience or readers is promoted and thus facilitates understanding of the concepts that are being communicated within the discourse. Furthermore, the arguments which the author presents are backed and illustrated by various theorists in the field of science such as Stephen Tooling. The works of Gergen have a connection within the contemporary working environment and social life. The concept of relations has been applied in managerial functions within firms. Metin (2011, p. 302) explains that for a leader to understand his or her followers, it is necessary that an understanding of their individual self and how they relate to others and the environment is attained. The practical activity of Gergen’s concepts illustrates their advantage to both professional and social life. Participation of people in various events and social settings can only understood through the concept of a relational being. It is through the contribution that Gergen provided in psychology that the differences in participation of employees in work activities can be understood by the manager. Slife and Richardson (2010, p. 226) emphasize that rational leadership has enabled mangers of organizations to successfully manage the subordinates through interactive and democratic approaches which are motivating and enhancing to the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. The benefits of the relational model as brought forth by Gergen’s book are illustrated by the practical application of this concept in community participation and joint learning. Mayeux and Cillessen (2008, p. 879) show that a relational being is able to participate in community activities. Lack of participation can also be explained by the concept of a relational being by understanding the factors which inhibit the creation of relations within the society. The learning process regardless of the level of education involves creation of relations among the learners and the instructors. Paleari, Regalia and Fincham (2011, p. 297) show that a relational being is a concept which aids instructors in understanding the roles that learners play in the learning process. Kenyon & Carter (2011, p. 9) argues that students participate in different capacities in learning activities and this is determined by the effects of relations on their individual self. This is illustrated by the fact that some learners may be slow at socializing while others are active within the learning process and social life within the learning institutions. These illustrations show the benefits and applicability of Gergen’s contribution to psychology and the understanding of individuals both in terms of their self and relations with the environment and others. It is however notable that Gergen’s book has some limitations. The author radicalizes his arguments. Moreover, the book is limited in scope because it presents an overall framework about the concepts of self and a relational being within the community. This shows that the work of Gergen leaves a number of questions to be asked. The arguments in the book are written in a general manner with an intention of leaving openings for further research on the topic. The fact that the concepts that the author presents are not consolidated illustrates that the book provides what can be described as basic understanding of the concept of self and emphasis on a relational being. On the other hand it can be argued that the author provides an avenue and a basis on which researchers on the subject can probe and add more knowledge that will be beneficial to scholars, psychologists, professionals, managers and the society in general as said by Hardie, Kashima and Pridmore (2005, p. 15). In his book, Gergen does not discuss research practices on the concept of self and relational being. His approach is based on presentation of vivid illustrations both from works of art and real life experiences. Because the ideas within the book are not mediated by research work in the field of science or psychology, it can be said that the book has some limitations which would lead to questioning the level of credibility and authenticity of the author’s work. However, it can be argued that the arguments of the author are legitimate because it would be impractical to present vast details within a single book. Gruba-McCallister (2007, p. 182) argues that the modern society is characterized by masterful self, isolation and bounded lifestyles. Therefore it can be argued that Gergen’s relational being and support for social elements within an individual are not convincing solution for the pain and isolation that portray the contemporary society. It can be said that it is only a limited number of values of relational being that are useful to socialization. Experiences such as rejection, isolation of within the society, alienation, imprisonment and enslavement demonstrate individualism more than relational personalities. As a result, the behavior of people under isolative environments can be understood through the psychological and scientific concepts of individualism. The scope of the book and the arguments presented by the author seems to be limited to interpersonal domain only. The author’s discussion and illustrations center on a relational being. Even though there are many references made to the traditional concept of rational individualism, they are aimed at explaining how relations matter in an individual self. The areas that the author does not cover which would be relevant to the implications of relations to individual self include culture, nature and history. Kloep, Hendry, Gardner and Seage (2010, p. 513) say that an individual is explained by the relations which interact with self. However, there are many other factors which enfold within an individual or society and they play a large role in explaining behavior and actions. For example, nature as represented by the forces of genetics is important in understanding an individual. Moreover, the culture of the society which plays the role of defining the norm helps in understanding people. Therefore it can be argued that despite the benefits that Gergen’s book presents, there are limitations and gaps which call for further research, criticism, debate and discussion. The overall value of Gergen’s work is demonstrated by the benefits of the positive criticism that he poses on the traditional understanding of individuals solely through individualism. The author provides an alternative of the individual self by presenting the concept of a relational being. His ideas are given with logical presentation and demonstration of examples and experiences which convinces the readers and contributes to the practice of psychology and scholarship. Even through the works of Gergen have some limitations; they have found practical application within the society such as relational leadership, community participation and learning. Moreover, the understanding of roles, behavior and interaction of individuals within groups and the society in general has been made possible through Gergen’s contributions. References Cicognani, E, Albanesi, C and Zani, B 2008, 'The impact of residential context on adolescents' Subjective Well being', Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 18, 6, pp. 558-575 Churchill, SD 2011, 'Empirical Variations of Relationality and the Question of Ontology: A Comment on Ken Gergen's Relational Being', Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 24, 4, pp. 297-303 Evans, S, & Prilleltensky, I 2007, 'Youth and democracy: Participation for personal, relational, and collective well-being', Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 6, pp. 681-692 Gergen, K 2009, “Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community”, Oxford University Press. Gergen, K 2011, 'Relational Being in Question: A Reply to My Colleagues', Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 24, 4, pp. 314-320 Gergen, K 2011. "Relational Being: A Brief Introduction." Journal of Constructivist Psychology 24, no. 4: 280-282 Gustafson, B 2010, Relational Being. Beyond Self and Community, Rainer Hampp Verlag, Mering, Germany, Mering. Gore, J and Cross, S 2010, 'Relational Self-construal Moderates the Link between Goal Coherence and Well-being', Self & Identity, 9, 1, pp. 41-61 Gruba-McCallister, F 2007, 'Narcissism and the Empty Self: To Have or To Be', Journal of Individual Psychology, 63, 2, pp. 182-192 Hardie, E, Kashima, E and Pridmore, P 2005, 'The Influence of Relational, Individual and Collective Self-Aspects on Stress, Uplifts and Health', Self & Identity, 4, 1, pp. 1-24 Kloep, M, Hendry, L, Gardner, C and Seage, C 2010, 'Young people's views of their present and future selves in two deprived communities', Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 20, 6, pp. 513-524 Kenyon, D and Carter, J 2011, 'Ethnic identity, sense of community, and psychological well-being among northern plains American Indian youth', Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 1, pp. 1-9 Kearns, A., O'mathuna, D and Scott, P 2010, 'Diagnostic Self-Testing: Autonomous Choices and Relational Responsibilities', Bioethics, 24, 4, pp. 199-207 McWilliams, S 2010, 'Inherent Self, Invented Self, Empty Self: Constructivism, Buddhism, and Psychotherapy', Counseling & Values, 55, 1, pp. 79-100 Mayeux, L, & Cillessen, A 2008, 'It's Not Just Being Popular, it's Knowing it, too: The Role of Self-perceptions of Status in the Associations between Peer Status and Aggression', Social Development, 17, 4, pp. 871-888 Metin, I 2011, 'Self and Well-Being', International Journal of Business & Social Science, 2, 18, pp. 302-305 Paleari, F, Regalia, C and Fincham, F 2011, 'Inequity in Forgiveness: Implications for Personal and Relational Well-Being', Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 30, 3, pp. 297-324 Slife, B and Richardson, F 2010, "Review of Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community", The Journal of social psychology, vol. 150, no. 2, pp. 226-230 Read More