ABSTRACT
The fundamental relevance of G. H. Mead's thinking for sociology is found in his theory of time, and the keys to understanding that theory are in his concepts of the specious present and sociality. This chapter examines Mead's treatment of time and the past in its intellectual context. This is important in order to determine Mead's purposes at the time of his analysis and to indicate the intellectual resources at his disposal in pursuit of those purposes. The chapter identifies three analytic dimensions in his theory. They include symbolically reconstructed past, social structural past, and implied objective past. The chapter discusses how Mead's theory articulates with his treatment of evolution and science, both of which are closely aligned with his conceptualization of temporality and experience. It indicates in what respects author's analysis leads to important clues regarding his solution to the problem of order.
