In: Essays on Self-Reference, Luhmann, 1990, p.107-122

p.108 Within the... tradition... stemming from Simmel and Mead, the individual is conceived as an emerging unit - emerging not from history but from social encounters. Simmel sees the identity of an individual as a collage, glued together by the viewpoints and expectations of other individuals. The fragmented self of one's own self-impressions becomes continuous and reliable only in and through social situations. Similarly, Mead thinks of the individual mind as an emerging unit, an inner copy of social interaction.