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Review Notes:  George Hebert Mead
1863  -  1931
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Syllabus 
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Resources 
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Outline on   Mead
 
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An Overview Mead     1863 - 1931   
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The Genesis of the Self   
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    The Genesis of the Self, Advanced   
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Mental Processes   

 
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 Overview of  George Herbert Mead  1863  -  1931
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-  Biography & Major Works
 
 
GEORGE HERBERT MEAD IS THE FOUNDER OF SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM WHICH OVERLAPS W/ MANY OTHER SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT 
 
 
George Herbert Mead is a major figure in the history of American philosophy, one of the founders of pragmatism along with Peirce, James, Tufts, & Dewey 
 
 
Mead never published a book & so his students produced four books in his name from his unpublished (& even unfinished) notes & manuscripts, from students' notes, & from stenographic records of some of his courses at the University of Chicago 
 
 
Mead's theory of the emergence of mind & self out of the social process of significant communication has become the foundation of the symbolic interactionist school of sociology & social psych 
 
 
Mead's thought includes significant contributions to social phil, the phil of nature, the phil of science, phil anthropology, the phil of history, and process phil 
 
  Both John Dewey &  Alfred North Whitehead considered Mead a thinker of the highest order   
 
THE SELF EMERGES AS A RESULT OF INTERACTION W/ THE ENV & OTHERS
 
  Mead is the most important thinker of the Chicago School & of symbolic interactionism   
 
Mead taught that people & their environment created the unity of the individual   
 
Mead emphasized the natural emergence of self & mind w/in the social order 
 
 
Mead analyzes experience from the standpoint of communication as essential to the social order   
  The development of the individual's self, & of his self consciousness w/in the field of his experience is preeminently social   
  For Mead, the social process is prior to the structures &  processes of individual experience   
 
For Mead, the emergence of self & mind comes about as a result of interaction w/ the environment & other beings 
 
  The self emerges from social experience & this social experience is based on the exchange of symbols   
  THE "I" & THE "ME" REPRESENT THE INSTINCTUAL & SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE SELF   
  When fully developed, the self is composed of the "I" & the "me"   
  The I is the self as subject & the me is the self as object   
 
See Also:  Mead on the Genesis of the Self   
  WHILE BEHAVIORISTS' VIEW OF SOC INTERACTION WAS MECHANICAL, MEAD ADDED PEOPLE'S UNDERSTANDING / CONSCIOUSNESS  
 
Individual psychology, for Mead, is intelligible only in terms of social processes   
  Mead's work must be contrasted against psychological behaviorism 
 
  Mead accepted may of the tenets of psychological behaviorism, but also rejected many others   
  Mead adopted the focus on the actor & his/her behavior 
 
  Mead accepted behaviorism's focus on observable behavior, rewards, & punishments 
 
  Mead & Cooley did not accept the behaviorists insistence on excluding any examination of the consciousness of the Actor 
 
 
The term symbolic interactions was not used during Mead's life, but his work on consciousness & Simmel's interest in action & interaction served as the foundation for that school 
 
  MEAD & LEWIN WERE IMPORTANT INFLUENCES ON SOCIAL PSYC W/ CORE IDEA THAT MEANING IS DEVELOPED VIA SOC INTERACTION  
  Two major influences on social psychology were the work of George Herbert Mead & Lewin, Kurt (1890-1947)   
  Mead, an American psychologist & philosopher, argued that people's ideas about themselves are developed through social contact   
  Lewin, a German born psychologist, investigated how individuals in groups are affected by other members   
  Both Mead & Lewin claimed that behavior depends primarily on how people interpret the social world   
  The work of these early researchers continues to influence social psychologists, who study people's perception of themselves & others   

 
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George Herbert Mead  1863  -  1931

American pragmatist, philosopher, & social psychologist
b South Hadley, MA
Educated at Oberlin College, Harvard University, & in Europe
Taught at the University of Chicago from 1894 - 1931
Influenced by theory of evolution & the social nature of experience & behavior
At the U of Chicago in the 1920's, Mead worked w/ colleagues
  Charles H. Cooley, W. I. Thomas, and others to develop field of Symbolic Interactionism
 
 Timeline on Mead: The Mead Project, Dept of Soc, Brock U, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1
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Image of George Herbert Mead
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Major Works of Mead

Mead published very little.  His students compiled his work
Mind, Self and Society.  1934, 1962. 
Twenty five of Mead's most notable published articles have been collected in Selected Writings: George Herbert Mead, edited by Andrew J. Reck (Bobbs Merrill, The Liberal Arts Press, 1964 
Mead's published papers are the following:
Suggestions Towards a Theory of the Philosophical Disciplines,1900 
Social Consciousness and the Consciousness of Meaning, 1910 
What Social Objects Must Psychology Presuppose, 1910 
The Mechanism of Social Consciousness, 1912 
The Social Self, 1913 
Scientific Method and the Individual Thinker, 1917 
A Behavioristic Account of the Significant Symbol, 1922
The Genesis of Self and Social Control, 1925 
The Objective Reality of Perspectives, 1926
The Nature of the Past, 1929
The Philosophies of Royce, James, and Dewey in Their American Setting, 1929 


 
External
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  Outline on  Mead on the Genesis of the Self  1863  -  1931
External
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  -  Project:  Play at Playing
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  -  Project:  The Generalized Other & Ethical Dilemmas
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  -  Video:  Cooley & Mead
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  Mead worked in the paradigm of symbolic interactionism & is generally viewed as one of its founders
 
  The genesis of the self is accomplished through socialization & goes through FOUR stages
 
  Self is composed of TWO components:  the   I    & the   me  
  The I is the spontaneous, unsocialized, unpredictable self has awareness of a separate identity
 
 
The me is the socialized part of individual
The I continues to exist
The self develops attitudes, behavior, & beliefs in order to fit in to society 
( Compare to Freud )
 
 
For Mead, there are FOUR stages in the development of the self, including
- the tabula rasa stage
- the imitative stage
- the play stage
- the game stage
 
  1.  Tabula Rasa Stage:                        circa  birth  
  Tabula rasa means blank slate  
  the concept of the tabula rasa denotes that people are born without certain predispositions to develop any particular type of personality  
  During the tabula rasa stage a baby can only do simple imitation  
  Only the I exists  
  We believe that babies believe that only they exist.         The world is under their control  
  During the tabula rasa stage, we have little or no identity  
 
2.  Imitative stage:                       circa birth to 2 yrs. 
 
  During the imitative stage, we can only imitate others, especially significant others (SO), but the me begins existence  
  For Mead the concept significant other denotes people w/ whom one has a regular, face to face, emotional connection  
  The I continues to exist  
  In the me, the individual carries society w/ them  
  Child can copy/imitate and plays imitation games  
 
3.  Play stage:                      circa 2 to 4 yrs.
 
  In the play stage, the child can take on roles of others, especially SOs  
  The me is more developed  
  Socialization begins through interaction w/ the SO  
  The Socialization that is achieved through the interaction w/ the SO:
- establishes sense of self, that is, a distinct identity & an awareness of that identity
- others are seen as having a separate identity
- learn social norms from (a) messages & (b) role models
(SOs from whom child learns to play a role)
- child wants to play 'real games,' but only w/ his or her flexible rules
 
  During the play stage, we develop a sense of identity  
 
4.  Game Stage                circa 5 yrs. & older
 
  In the game stage, a child can take on the complex roles of generalized others (GO)  
  The generalized other is the classes of people w/ whom a person interacts on the basis of generalized roles rather than on individual characteristics  
  The GO is interaction based on general roles of that individual rather than on specific traits   
  The GO represents actual games; the rules, standards of performance or the attitude of entire community  
  According to Mead, children at the game stage learn that certain positions are occupied by a variety of people & that people in similar social positions frequently behave alike  
  Children in turn are expected to behave in particular ways toward people w/ particular social positions  
  The me has gained all of it's capabilities, but still needs more socialization/knowledge  
  The child moves beyond interacting w/ particular individuals & interacts w/ roles  
  The child moves  from interacting w/ SOs to interacting w/ generalized others  
  At the game stage, the child has generalized from the behavior and expectations of particular individuals to those of anyone playing various roles that relate to whatever role the child is playing at the time  
  The child has gone from interacting with SOs to a new and higher stage of interacting w/ the GO  
  Games are a metaphor for all organized activity:   family, work, etc.   
  In the game stage, one plays actual games & is truly concerned about rules, performance  
  In the game stage, the child wants to appear grown-up  
  In the game stage, one becomes concerned w/ the attitude of the entire community  
 
During the game stage, a person is expected to behave in particular ways toward people w/ particular social positions
 
  According to Mead, children at the game stage learn that different people behave differently, & that different people also expect children to behave in different ways  
  Children do not yet really understand that how they are expected to behave toward people  
 
In the game stage, the self evaluates the self from the point of view of GOs & not merely from point of view of discrete others
 
  The evaluation of the self from the point of view of the GOs is the capacity for abstract thinking, objectivity, & morality
 
  While play requires only pieces of selves, games require a coherent self
 
  The self allows the individual to be a more efficient  member of the society and offers greater coordination of society  
  But the self is not a conformist robot because each self has a unique biographical make-up which shapes the self  
  People have multiple Generalized Others & Selves which provide them w/ an internal dialogue/debate that allows for moral reasoning  
  People can only react against society by setting up a higher sort of society which “out-votes” the one they find  
  To set up a 'higher society,' people must encounter the society of the past, present & future  
  For Mead, institutions, social structures, etc. are common responses of the community  
  The community often acts in an identical way to people  
  Institutions need not destroy or oppress the individual; in fact, many are flexible, progressive & foster individuality  
  Education is the process where the common habits of the community are internalized  
  Mead said, "The self, as that which can be an object to itself, is essentially a social structure, & it arises in social experience… it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience”  .  
  Mead's statement that the self is a social structure that arises in experience indicates that he thought nurture was the primary source of human behavior  

 
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 Outline on an Advanced Examination of the Genesis of the Self
External
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  -  Project:  Play at Playing 
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-  Project:  The Generalized Other & Ethical Dilemmas 
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  THE GENESIS OF THE SELF DEPICTS HOW THE SELF ARISES FROM SOCIAL EXPERIENCE   
  W/o socialization, we lack language, culture, abstract thought, & a concept of the self 
 
  The self arises in the the process of social experience & activity 
 
  The individual is the result of its relationship to others & to the socialization experience 
 
  IN THE IMITATIVE STAGE WE COPY OTHERS & JUDGE OUR ABILITY TO COPY & THUS BECOME AN OBJECT TO OURSELF   
  The self begins the process of socialization only by first becoming an object to itself 
 
  We do not first become a subject to ourself 
 
  Fully mature, "sophisticated," self actualized people gain an understanding that they are simultaneously both objects & subjects to themselves, and treat others according, in situation-, moral- specific contexts   
  We become an object to ourself by taking the attitudes of others on us w/in a social environment 
 
  The self, as an object to itself, is a social structure that arises in social experience 
 
  Social structures are patterns of behavior that have been institutionalized; i.e. widely accepted, & taken for granted by people everywhere   
  The self is a social structure in that each person develops a personality of regular behaviors & attitudes that the self & others accept & take for granted   
  A social experience is the relation that we have w/ others in a social environment   
  The person comes to carry on a conversation of gesture w/ themself 
 
  A person say something that elicits a certain reply in themself, which makes them change what they were going to say 
 
  We respond to ourself as another would respond by taking part in our own conversation w/ others, being aware of what we say & using that awareness of what we say to determine what we will say thereafter 
 
  All children have imaginary companions 
 
  A child's imaginary companion is only a problem when a child keeps & develops a permanent relationship w/ the "friend" 
 
  Through the imaginary communication, kids organize the responses that they call out in others & in themselves 
 
  THE PLAY STAGE   
  PLAYING AT BEING IS HOW CHILDREN TAKE ON / EXPERIMENT W/ INNUMERABLE ROLES & INTEGRATE THEM INTO THE SELF 
 
  Play is playing at being someone or something a mother, teacher, a monster, a truck, etc. 
 
  Even dogs play at being something such as chase dog or chased dog   
  Through the playing at being someone, kids organize the responses they call out in others & in themselves   
  When a child takes on a role, this is calling out the set of responses that go w/ that role,  both in: 
- performing the role 
- the reaction of others to the role 
- their reaction to the reaction of the others 
 
  A child uses some of the responses to the role to develop the self   
  Actors integrate aspects of many roles into our self   
  A child offers herself something & buys it, gives a letter to herself & takes it away, addresses herself as a parent, then takes on the role of child, addresses herself as a teacher, then takes on role of student, arrests herself as a policeman   
  ROLE PLAYING IS THE ORGANIZATION OF SETS OF STIMULI & RESPONSES INTO PARTICULAR ROLES & CONTEXTS   
 
A child has a set of stimuli which create a set of responses   
 
A child takes set of responses & organizes them into a certain whole 
 
 
A child says something in one character & responds in another character then the responding character is a stimulus to the 1st character 
 
  In play, child make rules on the spot to get the self out of a jam   
  Part of the fun of play is developing rules   
  Part of the fun of a game is knowing / using the existing rules   
 
IN THE GAME STAGE, A CHILD IS CAPABLE OF TAKING ON THE ROLE OF EVERYONE IN THE GAME AS WELL AS THE 'GENERALIZED OTHER' WHO WATCHES / JUDGES PERFORMANCE   
  In play a child takes on a few roles while in  a game, a child must be able to take on role of everyone else in the game or else the child does not understand the game   
  In play, the child passes from role to role based on whim, while in a game roles change as dictated by rules of game, by the social organization of the game   
  Example:  Baseball   
  In baseball, one must understand roles of all other players   
  In a game, there is a set of responses that creates appropriate responses in others which creates responses in the self, etc. until the game ends   
  Mead said, "The game represents the passage in the life of the child from taking the role of others in play to the organized part that is essential to self consciousness in the full sense of the term."   
  The generalized other ( GO ) is the organized community or social group which gives unity of self to the person   
  In baseball, the team is the GO   
  In abstract thought, we take the attitude of the GO to ourself w/o referring to any particular other person   
  In concrete thought we imagine how specific others will react to us   
  ONLY BY TAKING THE ROLE OF THE GO CAN WE THINK  
  Only by taking role of GO can we think in adult manner   
  It is w/ the GO that we have internalized conversation of gestures which constitute thought   
  Only through taking attitude of specific others or the GO is the existence of a universe of discourse possible   
  The universe of discourse includes all of the possible roles, acts, gestures by all people in a given culture   
  The attitudes which are common to the group, the GO, make up the organized self   
  We all have something in common: the attitudes of the GO or society   
  SOCIETAL CONTROL OF THE PERSON IS EXERCISED BY THE COMMUNITY  
  Like Durkheim, Mead believes that the community (society) exercises control over conduct of individual   
  The community exercises control through our internalized GO  
  PERSONALITY DEVELOPS IN A COMMUNITY FROM WHICH WE ADAPT ROLES & FRAME A GO 
 
  We have personality because we belong to a community   
  We take the institutions of that community into account in our own conduct  
  In the development  of a personality, we take:   
  -  on language, a style of language that is the language of our community   
  the roles available to us in the community   
  the attitudes of members in the community   
  The attitudes of  the members of the community are what we might call our principles or values 
 
  We put ourselves in the place of the GO which represents the organized responses of all the members of the group 
 
 
ETHICS & MORALITY ARE A FUNCTION OF THE GO / COMMUNITY IN THAT WE THINK BEYOND OUR INTERESTS TO THE INTERESTS OF THE GO / COMMUNITY   
 
The only way we react against the disapproval of entire the community is by setting up a higher sort of community which, in a certain sense, out votes the one we find ourself in 
 
 
A person may find themself going against whole world & to do that they have to speak w/ the voice of reason, & to comprehend the voices of the past & future 
 
 
To go against our community, we may also think ourself insane 
 
 
To go against our community, we may refer to the highest community: god 
 
 
Usually we assume the voice of the community is identical w/ the voice of past & future 
 
 
AS W/ THE GO, WE CONSIDER THE POSITION OF THE COMMUNITY & IN MORAL DILEMMAS, WE OFTEN EXPECT / HOPE IT WILL CHANGE 
 
 
We imagine what the GO or community will say to us 
 
 
We respond to that 
 
 
We may expect the community to change or alter it's morality 
 
 
We can reform the order of things 
 
 
We are not simply bound by the community 
 
 
We are engaged in a conversation w/ the community 
 
 
We all "have our day in court" when we respond to the community & hope that it will respond favorably to us 
 
 
Thus the individual has not only the right to engage in a conversation w/ the community, but also has a duty to do so 
 
 
The symbolic interatctionists concept of the right to converse is similar to the issues surrounding Habermas' communicative action and discourse 
 
 
For some symbolic interatctionists & Habermas, there is a duty to bring about those changes that we believe are needed 
 
 
Examples:  Against the World 
Galileo:  before the Inquisition 
Columbus:  before the Queen 
Person:  should I fight (back)? 
 

 
 External
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  Outline on  Mead on Mental Processes  1863  -  1931
 External
Links
  -  Project:  Mental Processes
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  THE SELF IS A PROCESS WHICH ARISES THROUGH SOCIAL ACTIVITY & RELATIONS   
 
"The self, as that which can be an object to itself, is essentially a social structure, & it arises in social experience… it is impossible to conceive of a self arising outside of social experience."
 
  The self has the ability to take oneself as an object and thus the self can be both subject & object  
  The self  presupposes the social process of communication  
  The self develops through social activity & social relations  
  The self is reflexive in that when responding to another, that response is heard by the self & responds to the self, as well as to the other  
  The self talks & replies as another would  
  The self has the ability to unconsciously put itself in the place of another and examine itself  
  We must be able to get outside of ourselves to evaluate our self  
  To act rationally we must be able to put the self in the same experiential field as we put everyone else:  we must be able to take ourselves & others into account  
  But we cannot experience ourself directly, so we must take the roles of others  
  OUR VERY MIND ARISES W/IN SOCIETY 
 
  As we see from the process of socialization, the mind arises w/in society  
  For Mead, society comes first, then the mind  
  W/o society, life as we know it could not exist  
  Society & mind are a dualism  
  For Mead, a micro orientation means that we explain the behavior of a group at that level and not in the terms of a sum of the acts of individuals  
  The act is the most "primitive" or basic unit for Mead
 
  The act has 4 interdependent, simultaneous stages including the impulse, the perception, the manipulation, & consummation  
  An act involves one person while a social act involves two or more people  
  Mead is somewhat of a behaviorist or pragmatist in that while he studied the mind, he insisted on a focus on observable, verifiable facts  
  THERE ARE FOUR STAGES IN THE CREATION OF A THOUGHT / ACTION, INCLUDING: IMPULSE, PERCEPTION, MANIPULATION, CONSUMATION  
  1.  THE IMPULSE IS THE FEELING / EMOTION WE EXPERIENCE AS A RESULT OF EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL STIMULI  
  The impulse is the reaction to an immediate sensuous stimulation (stimulus) which may be external, internal or combination of both  
  The impulse is similar to emotion, or a lesser form of a psychological drive  
  An example of boredom as an impulse is to see others having fun & feel bored, or just to have the feeling arise independently or some both combination of external & internal cues
 
  For Mead, the impulse is shaped by our social definitions of it:  inappropriate to be bored at a party  
  2.  THE PERCEPTION IS THE SEARCH FOR & REACTION TO STIMULI RELATED TO AN IMPULSE   
  We perceive both external stimuli as well as the mental images we create  
  We actively select among stimuli  
  Stimuli may have several dimensions and we choose one set  
  Perception & the object of perception are interdependently related   
  3.  MANIPULATION IS ACTION OR THOUGHT BASED ACTIVITY AS A RESULT ON AN IMPULSE & PERCEPTION   
  Manipulation is action or thought based activity as a result of an impulse & perception  
  When we manipulate the object, we take action in relation to it
 
  Manipulation is a pause to contemplate various responses  
  Animals don't generally manipulate  
 
4.  CONSUMMATION IS THE TAKING OF AN ACTION WHICH SATISFIES THE IMPULSE 
 
  Mead does not consider the consequences of no consummation or w/ dissatisfaction w/ the consummation  
  Gestures are movements which are specific stimuli calling forth socially appropriate responses  
  Non significant gestures are unconscious, instinctive actions  
  Significant gestures are gestures which require thought   
  For Mead, humans do both non significant & significant gestures while animals do only the former   
  Animal psychologists today would disagree w/ Mead because of their observations that dogs, cats, simians, dolphins, et al engage in play & appear to demonstrate other emotions & human traits   
  Language is vocalized significant gestures   
  Language & all social gestures stimulate speakers & listeners similarly   
  Physical gestures primarily are unconscious & so primarily affect others   
  SIGNIFICANT SYMBOLS ARE THE SYMBOLISM THAT IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO HIGHER ANIMALS   
  Significant symbols allow communication, language, complex mental processes, & complex social interactions   
  Significant symbols allow for greater adjustment because both giver & receiver interpret them   
  Language makes thought possible   
  Thinking is an internalized or implicit conversation  w/ the self by means of the significant gestures of language   
  In Mead's view, animals cannot think, though many of them are conscious   
  Thinking is the same as talking to one another   
  Viewing language as a necessity for thought is a behaviorist view of thinking   
  During the time Mead introduced his ideas of language & thought, introspection & talking therapy were popular in psychology   
  In our conversations & actions, we strain to elicit automatic behavior   
  Prayer, meditation, focused exercise, artistic practice, etc. often results in the is stopping of the conversations in our mind   
  Prayer, meditation, focused exercise, artistic practice, etc. stops thinking & therefore enhances or expands consciousness   
  THERE ARE FIVE MENTAL PROCESSES INCLUDING:  INTELLIGENCE, REASON, CONSCIOUSNESS, MEANING MAKING, & MIND   
  1.  INTELLIGENCE IS THE MUTUAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE ACTS OF ORGANISMS & THE ENV   
  In relation to intelligence, both animals & humans can adjust to each other but only humans use significant symbols  
  In relation to intelligence, animals have unreasoning intelligence because they have no pause in action, no manipulation  
  2.  REASON IS BASED ON THE ABILITY TO POSTPONE ACTION, TO CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES   
  In relation to reason, we can test out these alternatives mentally w/ no consequences   
  In relation to reason, we can choose which stimuli to consider   
 
3.  CONSCIOUSNESS IS AN AWARENESS OF THE SELF 
 
 
The TWO aspects of consciousness are substantive consciousness & reflective consciousness 
 
  Substantive consciousness is that to which the individual alone has access   
  Only the individual has access to substantive consciousness which is based on the pre consciousness of impulse, reason, etc. that is done w/o language or meaning in the social sense   
  Reflective consciousness is the social use symbols from the external world   
  Thus mental images are social because they arise only in relation to the external world & in gestures & symbols that are socially created   
  We often recognize the contrast btwn substantive & reflective consciousness when, in conversation, we admit the difficulty of putting our feelings into words, or when we know something but don't know how to explain it   
  4.  MEANING IS THE CREATION OF MUTUAL SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING   
  Meaning is the creation of mutual social understanding   
  Meaning is highly social as seen in a gesture given to another so that the other's behavior is predictable in that if we offer a person a compliment, we expect civil or friendly behavior in return   
  Giving a gift to a loved one only has meaning if both people agree on that meaning   
  5.  THE MIND IS A PROCESS, A CONVERSATION W/ ONESELF   
  The mind arises & develops w/in a social process & is an integral part of that process   
  Society is the processes that precedes both the mind & the self   
  The social processes precedes the mind, precedes meaning, & is not a product of the mind   
  The mind is not only the ability to create a response in another, but the response of the community as a whole   
  We give a particular gift because our society defines it as appropriate   
  It is difficult or impossible to give a gift that has solely individualistic meaning   
  Symbolic interactionism foreshadowed Giddens & the Post Modernists who see institutions as both constraining & enabling to the creative individual   
  For Mead, we need to grasp the emergence of society, self, etc. in that the whole is more than sum of its part just as water, i.e. H2O, is vastly different than 2 Hs & an O   

The End
 
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