Ways of Knowing Record Type: Review   ID: 877
Women's Growth in Connection: Writings from the Stone Center Jordan, Judith V., Kaplan, Alexandra G., Miller, Jean Baker, Stiver, Irene P., & Surrey, Janet L.v
By developing and describing women's ways of knowing and being, the authors present a relational model in contradistinction to the male models of psychological maturity that emphasize autonomy and separation. One of the authors, Alexandra Kaplan, captures it well: "What we are emphasizing . . . are the key aspects of attaining a capacity to be attuned to the affect of others, understanding and being understood by the other, and thus participating in the development of others. Thus relationship is a two-way interaction, at its best a mutual process wherein both parties feel enhanced and empowered through their empathic connection with the other. Connection with others, then, is a key component of action and growth, not a detraction from or a means to one's self-enhancement as is implied in other theories" (p. 208). A relational model would be much more open to exceptional human experiences, which by their very nature appear to foster connection, communion, and community. But, as Kaplan also points out, the extent to which women can develop their relational capacities depends on societal factors. Western society "not only does not value these attributes, but tends to interpret them as weaknesses" (p. 209). In the same way, the nurturance of exceptional human experiences is also devalued. Thus, it is to the mutual advantage of those who are investigating EHEs to pay heed to feminist thought and for feminists to realize that some of their most important insights and much of their impetus rests on exceptional human experiences.
Publisher Information:	New York: Guilford Press, 1991. 310p. Bibl: 291-305; Index: 306-310

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