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of George H Mead

Maurice Natanson

INTRODUCTION BY HORACE M. KALLEN

MARTINUS NIJHOFF / THE HAGUE /1973

This book was originally published in 1956 by Public Affairs Press

C 1973 by Marlinus NijhojJ, The HagtI8, Netherlands All rights reserved, ineluding the right to translate or to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form ISBN-13: 978-90-247-1489-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2408-2 001: 10.1007/978-94-010-2408-2

AUTHOR'S NOTE The Social Dynamics oj George H. Mead was first published in 1956. At that time there was relatively little interest in Mead, considering his eminence in the history of American philosophy. More often than not, he was acclaimed chiefly for his contributions to sociology and social psychology. In the past few years, this situation has begun to change. There are signs of a new awareness of Mead's importance as a philosopher as well as a social scientist. I believe that in the next decade he may at last receive the full recognition his originality merits. The republication of this book will be vindicated if, in some measure, it helps to lead to a major reappraisal of Mead's genius. As stated in the original Acknowledgment, my study of Mead was directed by Dr. Alfred Schutz. Dr. Schutz died in 1959. The posthumous publication of his books in the past ten years has (in addition to their own intrinsic value) helped to provide a remarkable point of access to many of Mead's ideas. Thus, Dr. Schutz's influence on this book persists. Another teacher-the author of the Introduction to this work-still philosophizes. It is my pleasure to be able to pay homage to Dr. Horace Kallen at the approach of his ninetieth birthday. The Social Dynamics oj George H. Mead, which has been unavailable for some time, is here reprinted without change. save for an effort to bring the bibliography up to date.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT Research for this study was done at the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science of the New School for Social Research and was carried on during the author's tenure as Scholar of the American Council of Learned Societies, 195153. I am grateful to the Council for its support and for the renewal of the original grant for a second year, which enabled me to complete my work. To the Graduate Faculty of the New School, that remarkable venture in scholarship, I give my warmest thanks, especially to those members with whom I was in close contact. But my central debt is to Dr. Alfred Schlitz, ,Professor of Philosophy and Sociology in the Graduate Faculty, for it was he who first introduced me to Mead and to the problems of the social sciences, and it was he who showed me where to look and how to see. My wife's name appears last here but first in the book, and that is for me the measure of her sustained and sustaining faith through difficult times. MAURICE NATANSON

INTRODUCTION Twelve years after his Origin of Species, Charles Darwin published his Descent of Man. If the first book brought the gases of philosophical controversy to fever heat, the second exploded them in fiery roars. The issue was