Is There a Social Mind?

Abstract

The question of the existence of a social mind is one of interpretation rather than of fact, since the meaning of the term is, itself, in doubt. It is not an idle question, for it is answerable, in the sense that one may hope to reach a sounder judgment by addressing himself to it, and it is also useful, for it implies a practical attitude. The urgency of the question is the result of a reaction against the extreme individualism of the eighteenth century, along with the multiplication of "corporate groups." Five characters may be applied to groups. (I) Class. Class is an aggregate of individuals of which the same thing is true. If by a social mind we mean "a class of minds" then there is such a thing, but we need a term less formal and more dynamic. (2) Whole. By this is meant an aggregation of which something is true which is not true for the individuals. There is no doubt that "wholes" are composed of individual human beings, but wholeness must not be identified with causality. (3) Individuality. This term has been badly overworked, meaning either a member of a class, or uniqueness, or identity. In all three respects society may be said to be an individual. (4) System. This refers to the connecting relations rather than to the members of the relation. Societies may be systems. Now while a society is a class, a whole, an individual, and a system, so also is a row of books. Thus the term is deflated and our idolatrous proclivities are left unaroused. But the suggestion is that the characters which attach to the members of the whole also attach to the whole. This we shall examine.