Synopses & Reviews
The Social Mind charts the intellectual history of the idea of the socially constructed mind through the examination of four key theorists--Lev Vygotsky, George Herbert Mead, James Mark Baldwin, and Pierre Janet. An analysis of the theories of these scholars and the social climate in which they worked will be invaluable to contemporary social scientists. In their analysis of the social construction of mind, the authors elaborate on their notion of intellectual interdependency in the development of scientific ideas and they take a new look at how progress in science is a socially constructed entity. Their well constructed, ambitious volume makes an important and timely contribution to the theory and history of psychology.
Review
"There is a lot to be enjoyed and surprised by in this wide-ranging, scholarly tome." The Psychologist
Synopsis
This charts the intellectual history of the idea of socially constructed mind through the examination of four key theorists. The authors elaborate on their notion of intellectual interdependency in the development of scientific ideas and they take a new look at how progress in science is a socially constructed entity.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-475) and index.
Table of Contents
General introduction; 1. Development of ideas in sciences: intellectual interdependency and its social framework; 2. Social suggestion and mind; 3. Pierre Janet's world of tensions; 4. James Mark Baldwin's theoretical heritage; 5. Pragmatism and the social mind: an American context; 6. George Herbert Mead's development of the self; 7. Striving towards the whole: losing development in the course of history; 8. Vygotsky's world of concepts; 9. The social person today: continuities and interdependencies; 10. General conclusion: social mind in action: socially guided intellectual interdependency in science.