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G. H. Mead: a system in a state of flux

Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon and a senior member at Wolfson College, Cambridge, fcs23{at}ics.ul.pt

This article offers an original, intellectual portrait of G. H. Mead. My reassessment of Mead’s thinking is founded, in methodological terms, upon a historically minded yet theoretically oriented strategy. Mead’s system of thought is submitted to a historical reconstruction in order to grasp the evolution of his ideas over time, and to a thematic reconstruction organized around three major research areas or pillars: science, social psychology and politics. If one re-examines the entirety of Mead’s published and unpublished writings from the point of view of contemporary social and political theory, one can see that his contributions transcend the field of social psychology. Mead’s innovative insights on the communicative aspects of social life and individual conscience are yet to be fully explored by current social and political theorists. This is partly due to the fact that his was a system in a state of flux, ever escaping the final written form.

Key Words: democratic politics • experimental science • G. H. Mead • social psychology • sociological classics

History of the Human Sciences, Vol. 20, No. 1, 45-65 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0952695107074671


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