TRANSFORMING REN ?: THE DE ? OF GEORGE HERBERT MEAD'S SOCIAL SELF

Keith explores the usefulness of George Herbert Mead's social behaviorism to themes in Chinese philosophy, especially those relating to the concept of a pragmatically "cultivated autonomy"--the self as it emerges from social contexts and becomes itself a transformative agent with its own ethical impact on the world. Specifically, Mead's concept of the social self can illuminate the process of "ren," becoming an ethically sensitive and humane human being.