Abstract

This brief and valuable reconstruction of Mead's theory of social reality combines a carefully documented exposition of the development of Mead's thought with a philosophically critical examination of some of his major themes. Whereas most interpreters have typed Mead as a "social behaviorist," his theories are here rightly portrayed as transcending the behavioristic framework, moving "from a problematic empiricism toward an idealistic and subjectivistic account of the nature of social reality." The author finds unresolved "foundational confusions" in Mead's theories, however, springing primarily from his evasion of epistemological issues. --L. K. B.