The History and Ideas of George Herbert Mead's Pragmatism and Its Relevance for Operational Research and Systems Thinkers

ABSTRACT George Herbert Mead is an oft forgotten or ignored American philosopher who was one of the originators of pragmatism. Today, he is recognised as a creative thinker who has teased out knotty problems that others in the field had not realised were problems. Understanding Mead's analysis has been made difficult because he died prematurely without publishing his principal works. This paper draws on sources ranging from lecture notes written down by graduate students and edited by Mead's colleagues, to his presentation of his Carus lectures, which he had written in draft and delivered, but not prepared the paper for publication. Mead is mainly recognised as a social psychologist . In this paper, it is argued that Mead's insights can be reflected in the research and practice of operational research scholars; for instance, paying attention to non‐verbal gestures can improve the processes of facilitating a workshop or conducting an interview.