The Philosophy of John Dewey: Volume 1. The Structure of Experience, Volume 2: The Lived Experience

by John Dewey, John J. McDermott (Editor)

John J. McDermott's anthology, The Philosophy of John Dewey , provides the best general selection available of the writings of America's most distinguished philosopher and social critic. This comprehensive collection, ideal for use in the classroom and indispensable for anyone interested in the wide scope of Dewey's thought and works, affords great insight into his role in the history of ideas and the basic integrity of his philosophy.

This edition combines in one book the two volumes previously published separately. Volume 1, "The Structure of Experience," contains essays on metaphysics, the logic of inquiry, the problem of knowledge, and value theory. In volume 2, "The Lived Experience," Dewey's writings on pedagogy, ethics, the aesthetics of the "live creature," politics, and the philosophy of culture are presented. McDermott has prefaced each essay with a helpful explanatory note and has written an excellent general introduction to the anthology.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Education, Biography, Academic, American, Politics

766 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 1981

About the author

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey, along with Charles Sanders Peirce and William James, is recognized as one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism and of functional psychology. He was a major representative of the progressive and progressive populist philosophies of schooling during the first half of the 20th century in the USA.

In 1859, educator and philosopher John Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont. He earned his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University in 1884. After teaching philosophy at the University of Michigan, he joined the University of Chicago as head of a department in philosophy, psychology and education, influenced by Darwin, Freud and a scientific outlook. He joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1904. Dewey's special concern was reform of education. He promoted learning by doing rather than learning by rote. Dewey conducted international research on education, winning many academic honors worldwide. Of more than 40 books, many of his most influential concerned education, including My Pedagogic Creed (1897), Democracy and Education (1902) and Experience and Education (1938). He was one of the founders of the philosophy of pragmatism. A humanitarian, he was a trustee of Jane Addams' Hull House, supported labor and racial equality, and was at one time active in campaigning for a third political party. He chaired a commission convened in Mexico City in 1937 inquiring into charges made against Leon Trotsky during the Moscow trials. Raised by an evangelical mother, Dewey had rejected faith by his 30s. Although he disavowed being a "militant" atheist, when his mother complained that he should be sending his children to Sunday school, he replied that he had gone to Sunday School enough to make up for any truancy by his children. As a pragmatist, he judged ideas by the results they produced. As a philosopher, he eschewed an allegiance to fixed and changeless dogma and superstition. He belonged to humanist societies, including the American Humanist Association. D. 1952.

Reviews

[IWB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gotta say, after reading this, it's clear to me why Rorty downplays or ignores the influence and significance of Dewey on his own work--because most of Rorty's ideas are taken directly and without much alteration, from Dewey.
Much of what Dewey says in his work on democracy, authoritarianism, education, academia, and political engagement is so apropos for today--it's uncanny.
With respect to the history of philosophy, philosophical method, and epistemology, at a minimum be sure to read "From Absolutism to Experimentalism"; "Kant and Philosophic Method"; "The Need for Recovery of Philosophy"; "The Experimental Theory of Knowledge"; "Experience and Philosophic Method"; "Existence, Value, and Criticism"; and "Philosophy's Search for the Immutable"

I do believe Dewey is underappreciated among contemporary philosophers, including a good number self-proclaimed pragmatists.

[Manal Al dossari]

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