The Philosophy of the Present

by Mead, George Herbert

• ISBN13: 9781573929486
• ISBN10: 1573929484
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Prometheus Books

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction	11	(20)
Prefatory Remarks	31	(4)
The Present as the Locus of Reality	35	(26)
Emergence and Identity	61	(12)
The Social Nature of the Present	73	(18)
The Implication of the Self	91	(22)
Supplementary Essays
Empirical Realism	113	(22)
The Physical Thing	135	(18)
Scientific Objects and Experience	153	(18)
The Objective Reality of Perspectives	171	(12)
The Genesis of the Self and Social Control	183	(16)
Index	199