Introduction
George Herbert Mead (1863–1931), American philosopher and social theorist.One of the most
significant figures in classical American pragmatism.Mead's prestige was greatest outside of
professional philosophical circles.He is considered by many to be the father of the school of
Symbolic Interactionism in sociology and social psychology, although he did not use this
nomenclature. Mead is best known for his work on the nature of the self and intersubjectivity,
he also developed a theory of action, and a metaphysics or philosophy of nature that
emphasizes emergence and temporality, in which the past and future are viewed through the
lens of the present.
Nature of Self
Social self-theory of Mead is basically based on the perception that the self arises from social
connections and interactions, such as interacting and observing with others and responding to
the views and opinions of others The philosophers says that one cannot be itself until and
unless that person is not social.To be social object the individual needs to be aware of his
gestures. The gestures are the actions that we do which are non verbal and in it the visible body
movements communicate particular messages. A person is social when it experiences different
situations and when it knows the actions or gestures of its own phase of social act and of the
other person or participant. The main component that Mead focuses on is the communication
which is involved in the social behavior. In communication mead emphasized on language
which develops the self by responding to the people by the use of sounds, words and gestures.
Language is the method through which people communicate with each other either by writing
or speaking. It delivers one’s emotions that is the person happy or sad. It also tells the attitude
of a person and what are the views of an individual on a certain topic or the opinion towards a
person or a subject. So it is the vital component of communication. Different languages have
different expressions and words. Learning diverse languages enable a person to explore more
and learn about the cultures of others and develop new skills, the more you are a social object
the more you know yourself. The second thing is the Role playing in which Mead says that when
an individual put himself in others shoe that person is more likely to understand the situations
and circumstances of others and when it takes different roles it develops self-consciousness
and through this a person can internalize the perception and ideas of others as well as
understanding them in a variety of social situations. The third thing is Game, the game allows
an individual to learn and develop the understanding of rules that if there are certain rules how
one can follow them and be successful by abiding them.
According to the philosopher the self does not come from the biological factors or is inherited,
it basically develops with the experiences that a person faces and with over time how the
person performs in the circumstances that comes upon him. There is a significance of selfawareness that when an individual performs a certain activity that person can anticipate the
consequences and if a there is a participant in that activity, the individual would know the
gestures and the response of that participant. This is very useful in practical life as through this
self-awareness people can know what to do in severe situations how to control the gestures
and responses of a person as well. Mead also focus on the self that to be an object oneself is to
be a subject. What we understand by this statement is that one should know the characteristics
of himself, the attributes, his personality and even what he likes and dislikes.
Mead conceives the essence of self that it is cognitive which means that the gestures and every
action constitutes thinking.