Mead, George Herbert

Mead, George Herbert (1863-1931), American pragmatist, philosopher, and social psychologist, born in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Educated at various universities in the United States and Europe, he taught at the University of Chicago from 1894 until his death.

Influenced by evolutionary theory and the social nature of experience and behaviour, Mead emphasized the natural emergence of the self and mind within the social order. The self, he argued, emerges out of a social process in which the organism becomes self-conscious. This self-consciousness arises as a result of the organism's interaction with its environment, including communication with other organisms. The vocal gesture (language) is the mechanism through which this development occurs. Mind, too, is a social product. The mind, or intelligence, is an instrument developed by the individual to “make possible the rational solution of ... problems”. Mead emphasized the application of the scientific method in social action and reform.

During his lifetime, Mead published only articles. His books were published posthumously from manuscripts and students' notes and include The Philosophy of the Present (1932), Mind, Self, and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist (1934), and The Philosophy of the Act (1938).