Relational Being: A Brief Introduction

Abstract

My hopes for my book, Relational Being (2009), were several in number. After placing the tradition of the individual or independent self under critical scrutiny, the initial attempt was to generate an account of persons as inherently relational. If the origin of all meaning lies within collaborative action (co-action), then not only does the individual self but, indeed, all intelligible action find its origins in relationship. From this standpoint, all psychological process can then be reconstructed as relational process. These conceptions were then linked to practices of research, education, therapy, and organizational change. Finally, their relevance to morality and spirituality were explored.

Acknowledgments

This article was originally presented at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in San Diego, August 2010. The presentation was part of a symposium entitled “Exploring and Critiquing Ken Gergen's Book Relational Being.”