This paper examines connections between the account of social reality outlined by George Herbert Mead and developed by Beth Singer and that developed by advocates of critical realism. Whether primarily interested in defending the relevance of Mead’s contributions or further elaborating the social ontology associated with critical realism, those who have previously compared these perspectives have focused on differences. In this paper I argue that there are important similarities between the account of community, norms, and rights provided by Mead and Singer and recent positions developed by certain proponents of critical realism. I then suggest that, even where limitations in Mead’s analysis are evident, as for example in his over-socialized account of the self, various responses can be made with more than one appearing consistent with key aspects of critical realism.
Tag: community
Continuity and discontinuity in the socio-economics of Yasuma Takata
Abstract This article has the following three objectives. The first is to display the thought and behavior of Japanese thinker Yasuma Takata (1883-1972), almost unknown in the West, who formulated a sociological theory and a socio-economic theory. The second is to examine how his thought and his behavior related to Japan wrong-doing during World War … Continue reading Continuity and discontinuity in the socio-economics of Yasuma Takata