In September, 2015, the Berggruen Institute organized a workshop to discuss the relationship between Self and the Meaning of Life. It’s was a rare opportunity for intellectuals to interact and share different worldviews. One idea that emerged from the workshop discussion is that it’s best to think of the self as “becoming” rather than “being”. To this end, many workshop participants have written short essays to explain what “human becoming” means from her/his perspective and derives one practical or policy implication. Each essay in this series draws from the perspective of a cultural tradition but in accessible language for those unfamiliar with the tradition.

Human Becoming from an Islamic Perspective


Human Becoming and the Idea of Progress



Human Beings or Human Becomings: Why Asking Who is Poor Really Matters


From the Ideology of Individualism to Confucian Role Ethics in a Changing World Cultural Order
