George Herbert Mead on Humans and Other Animals: Social Relations after Human-Animal Studies

Abstract

The turn towards nonhuman animals within sociology has shed a critical light on George Herbert Mead, his apparent prioritisation of language and the anthropocentric focus of Symbolic Interactionism (SI). Although Herbert Blumer canonised Mead as the founder of this perspective he also played a key role in excising the evolutionary and ‘more-than-human’ components in Mead's work. This intervention not only misrepresented Mead's intellectual project, it also made symbols the predominant concern in Blumer's version of SI. Since groundbreaking animal sociologists in America framed much of their thinking in opposition to SI's emphasis on language, because it excluded alingual animal others from sociological consideration, Mead's Mind, Self, and Society has largely functioned as a negative classic within this sub-field. Although some scholars recognise there is more in Mead's work that is potentially applicable to this interspecies area the attempt to recover what might be helpful has yet to begin (e.g. Alger & Alger 1997 ). This paper suggests that if the ambiguities and contradictions that exist alongside Mead's oft-quoted anthropocentrisms are also attended to this may open up a more positive reading and use of Mead's work for animal sociology.

The animal challenge to sociology

“…Thus Alger and Alger argue that the centrality of Mead to the sociological tradition and his assumption that other animals are incapable of symbolic thought explains sociology's lack of attention to animals (Alger and Alger, 2003a; see also Wilkie and McKinnon, 2013). Clearly, the symbolic, as we discuss later, is central to sociology and poses particular problems for sociology's ability to respond to the animal challenge.…”

“…With the development of interdisciplinary human-animal studies, scholars not only have begun to reflect on sociology’s neglect of animals and undertake empirical research in an attempt to rectify this, but have also asked whether there is something about sociology that generates this neglect. Thus, Alger and Alger argue that the centrality of Mead to the sociological tradition and his assumption that other animals are incapable of symbolic thought explains sociology’s lack of attention to animals (Alger and Alger, 2003a; see also Wilkie and McKinnon, 2013). Clearly, the symbolic, as we discuss later, is central to sociology and poses particular problems for sociology’s ability to respond to the animal challenge.…”

Finding Sanctuary in the Occupational Choice of Animal Shelter Work

“…These actions go beyond the notion of human-to-animal 'simple' care; they constitute interspecies symbolic interaction, as I will contend in chapter 6. Wilkie and McKinnon (2013) concur. These scholars argue that Mead's Mind, Self and Society has largely featured as a negative classic in HAS, because of its generally interpreted (see Blumer, 1969) lingual quality.…”

“…By taking a social constructionist perspective, I will endeavour to unpack the meanings shelter workers attribute to their work, as these occupations are not those for which the occupational choice literature was developed. While symbolic interactionism is a common theoretical framework for HAS scholars (Alger and Alger, 1997;Arluke and Sanders, 1996;Taylor, 2007) and the post-Meadian perspective has been persuasively argued by Arluke and Sanders (1996), Myers (2003), Wilkie and McKinnon (2013) and others, occupational choice theory could be extended by using symbolic interactionism to unpack the processes of choices which intersubjectively emerge, sediment and are subject to change over time. Choices are not made as we please of course, but are subject to socio-structural constraints.…”

Therapeutic landscapes and non-human animals: the roles and contested positions of animals within care farming assemblages

“…However, one set of relations yet to be discussed within the context of therapeutic landscapes is the non-human element of these spaces, despite the growing popularity of multispecies scholarship (Wilkie and McKinnon 2013).…”