G.H. Mead

G. H. Mead is rightly considered to be one of sociology's founding fathers, yet to date there have been surprisingly few books devoted to his life and work. This book fills the gap by introducing Mead's ideas to a younger generation of social scientists. Beginning with a biographical account of the main events in Mead's career, Filipe Carreira da Silva provides a thorough examination of Mead's social theory of the self, the reception of his ideas into sociology, and the relevance of his work to the contemporary social sciences. He focuses in detail on the core ideas associated with Mead's work, including gesture and the significant symbol, the I-me distinction and the 'generalized other', as well as exploring less well-known aspects of his writing. This comprehensive introduction to Mead's thinking will appeal to students across the social sciences, providing a refreshing perspective on the social nature of the individual self.

"A comprehensive critical guide [that] is a definite must-read for anyone with an interest in Mead." Sociological Research Online "This book is a real gem. It does proper justice to the sophistication and originality of G. H. Mead’s intellectual project, whilst remaining remarkably lucid and accessible. Filipe Carreira da Silva’s approach brings Mead alive and provides a thorough understanding of his audience, his motivations for writing, his intellectual allies and foes and, above all, what he was trying to achieve. Carreira da Silva also explains the relevance of Mead’s writings for current debates in social and political philosophy, and he does so with analytical agility and imagination. I highly recommend this book." Patrick Baert, University of Cambridge "Drawing on previously obscure archives and impeccable scholarship, Filipe Carreira da Silva has broken extremely important new ground on one of the most important yet under-appreciated social thinkers of the twentieth century." Donald Levine, University of Chicago

Filipe Carreira da Silva is an Assistant Researcher at the University of Lisbon.