Abstract

This classic book represents Mead's philosophy of experience, so central to his outlook. The present as unique experience is the focus of this deep analysis of the basic structure of temporality and consciousness. Mead emphasises the novel character of both the present and the past. Though science is predicated on the assumption that the present is predictable based on a thorough knowledge of the past, the experience of the present, says Mead, is an utterly unique moment comparable to no other, and when it is past the novel character of that unique experience is irrevocable. This stimulating and provocative work attests to John Dewey's praise of Mead as 'the most original mind in philosophy in America' of his generation.

Keywords

PraiseTemporalityCharacter (mathematics)EpistemologyConsciousnessFocus (optics)PhilosophySociologyLiteratureArt

Related Publications

Habit, Emotion, and Self-Conscious Action

John D. Baldwin

Modern sociological theory tends to be overly cognitive, underemphasizing both habit and emotions. During the past decade, the increased attention to the sociology of emotions h...

1988 Sociological Perspectives 30 citations

Essays in experimental logic.

John Dewey

This critical edition of John Dewey's 1916 collection of writings on logic, in Experimental Logic - in which Dewey presents his concept of logic as the theory of inquiry and hi...

1916 437 citations

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we...

2017 Macat Library eBooks 5422 citations

Publication Info

Year
1959
Type
book
Citations
909
Access
Closed

External Links

Citation Metrics

909
OpenAlex

Cite This

George H. Mead (1959). The philosophy of the present. .