{"id":{"repo_id":"siu-theses","oai_identifier":"oai:opensiuc.lib.siu.edu:dissertations-1705"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/siu-theses/oai:opensiuc.lib.siu.edu:dissertations-1705","repository":{"repo_id":"siu-theses","name":"Southern Illinois University","base_url":"https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The Transformation of Self: A Study of Classic American Pragmatism","abstract":"This dissertation focuses on the understanding of self from the perspective of classic American pragmatism, of which I select James, Peirce, Mead, and Dewey as representative figures. The central concept of this study is the transformation of self. It is in this particular aspect, which I take also as a major theme of classic American pragmatism, that I find a possibility of fresh and revivifying approach to the old problem of self-knowledge and the ongoing debate of selfhood. I try to demonstrate that for pragmatists, the question What is a self? cannot be answered without placing it into the context of the process of self-transformation and reconstruction. To achieve this, I examine the notions of self and self-transformation in each thinker, while at the same time trying to weave them into a larger picture. Classic American pragmatists, as I try to illuminate, by their unique takes on experience, others, and community, provide us not only a theoretical approach to keep the old project of self-inquiry vibrating, but also a practical possibility to reconstruct an enterprise of humanity.","abstract_html":"This dissertation focuses on the understanding of self from the perspective of classic American pragmatism, of which I select James, Peirce, Mead, and Dewey as representative figures. The central concept of this study is the transformation of self. It is in this particular aspect, which I take also as a major theme of classic American pragmatism, that I find a possibility of fresh and revivifying approach to the old problem of self-knowledge and the ongoing debate of selfhood. I try to demonstrate that for pragmatists, the question What is a self? cannot be answered without placing it into the context of the process of self-transformation and reconstruction. To achieve this, I examine the notions of self and self-transformation in each thinker, while at the same time trying to weave them into a larger picture. Classic American pragmatists, as I try to illuminate, by their unique takes on experience, others, and community, provide us not only a theoretical approach to keep the old project of self-inquiry vibrating, but also a practical possibility to reconstruct an enterprise of humanity.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sun, Ning"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Campus Only Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Philosophy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Hickman, Larry"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:34:11Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/703","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Hickman, Larry"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sun, Ning"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Only Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/703"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation focuses on the understanding of self from the perspective of classic American pragmatism, of which I select James, Peirce, Mead, and Dewey as representative figures. The central concept of this study is the transformation of self. It is in this particular aspect, which I take also as a major theme of classic American pragmatism, that I find a possibility of fresh and revivifying approach to the old problem of self-knowledge and the ongoing debate of selfhood. I try to demonstrate that for pragmatists, the question What is a self? cannot be answered without placing it into the context of the process of self-transformation and reconstruction. To achieve this, I examine the notions of self and self-transformation in each thinker, while at the same time trying to weave them into a larger picture. Classic American pragmatists, as I try to illuminate, by their unique takes on experience, others, and community, provide us not only a theoretical approach to keep the old project of self-inquiry vibrating, but also a practical possibility to reconstruct an enterprise of humanity."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Transformation of Self: A Study of Classic American Pragmatism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Hickman, Larry"],"dc:creator":["Sun, Ning"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation focuses on the understanding of self from the perspective of classic American pragmatism, of which I select James, Peirce, Mead, and Dewey as representative figures. The central concept of this study is the transformation of self. It is in this particular aspect, which I take also as a major theme of classic American pragmatism, that I find a possibility of fresh and revivifying approach to the old problem of self-knowledge and the ongoing debate of selfhood. I try to demonstrate that for pragmatists, the question What is a self? cannot be answered without placing it into the context of the process of self-transformation and reconstruction. To achieve this, I examine the notions of self and self-transformation in each thinker, while at the same time trying to weave them into a larger picture. Classic American pragmatists, as I try to illuminate, by their unique takes on experience, others, and community, provide us not only a theoretical approach to keep the old project of self-inquiry vibrating, but also a practical possibility to reconstruct an enterprise of humanity."],"dc:identifier":["https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/703"],"dc:title":["The Transformation of Self: A Study of Classic American Pragmatism"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Philosophy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Only Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:34:11Z"}