Developing a Unique but Inclusive Self: A Discussion With John Dewey and Liang Shuming

• In Event: Education for Inner Transformation and an Expanded Self: Paradigm Shift in Education

Abstract

Point of View

This paper explores the construction of self-identity for a more inclusive and enriched individuality by going through the struggle the individual needs to experience for a unique self on one hand and the inclusive self on the other hand. This paper argues that the meaning of the self needs to emphasize both aspects of uniqueness and inclusiveness. The word “inner struggle” is used to indicate an endless process the individual needs to deal with for a renewed self which fights against falling into the un-reflected routine or convention. Uniqueness requires the individual not to rely on the already-made self as well as already-made conventions but open the self to the uncertain situations and thus seek new opportunities for constructing the evolving self. It is only when a unique self is constructed and identified by the individual that the “I” obtains meaning. The “we” is meaningless if the “I” is not clear (Sontag, 2003). However, this unique self does not equal the view of the extreme liberalism which celebrates the exclusive need of the self (Giroux, 2008). Instead, the construction of the unique self has to include others as part of the self. It is only when the individual finds more possibilities of connection between the unique self and any unfamiliar others outside of the self that he/she can develop an inclusive vision of the evolving self.

This point is developed from the author’s reading of pragmatism and Confucianism, especially John Dewey and Liang Shuming’s works. The motivation of this paper is to explore a healthy relationship between the individual and society through educational practice in the contemporary marketized and globalized society.

Methods and Data Sources

The paper is elaborated through a comparative philosophical study on American pragmatist John Dewey and Chinese Confucianist Liang Shuming. Their views on the conceptions of self, individuality and the relationship between the individual and society are compared to help evolving the paper’s argument on the conception of unique and inclusive self. For Dewey, the analysis is focused on his earlier work Democracy and Education (1916/1944) and later works Art as Experience (1934/2005) and some essays in his later work collection (1925-1953). For Liang, the analysis is mainly conducted through his final and concluding book Mind and Life (2005) and the related essays in his complete work collection (1991).

Conclusion

Through this comparative study, the paper argues that an inner struggle is necessary to construct a unique and inclusive self because the individual needs to give up the conventional routes and creatively construct a vision of the self. This struggle is private at the beginning for its genuine originality but it needs to connect to a broader world to get enriched meaning, to find more possibilities of connection between the self and others and thus to expand the boundary of the self by including others. The paper concludes that an inner struggle without isolating the self is crucial for cultivating the unique but inclusive self in contemporary society.

Author

• Huajun Zhang, Beijing Normal University