Customer Reviews (1)

A Work of Surpassing Importance
The current renaissance of American pragmatism, and John Dewey's philosophy in particular, began two decades ago with Richard Rorty's refashioning of Dewey as a postmodernist who renounces the "professional philosophy" of metaphysics and epistemology for the fluidity of conversation in the life and growth of a community.This depiction, though praised for rekindling Dewey's star, has been widely challenged by subsequent commentators.Ralph Sleeper's 1986 The Necessity of Pragmatism persuasively argues that Dewey reconfigures, rather than renounces, the logical and metaphysical grounds of knowledge.Despite an archaic Hegelian vocabulary that misleadingly suggests idealism and antirealism, Sleeper finds Dewey advancing a genuine metaphysics of existence, not merely a conversation about experience: a naturalistic realism of independent existences that enter into and are transformed by human interactions with them. This perspective is shared by most Dewey scholars, including Sandra Rosenthal, Raymond Boisvert, andJ. E. Tiles. At least until now. In a profound and provocative exploration of his early philosophy, John R. Shook, presents a compelling case that Dewey's reconstruction of metaphysics and epistemology is deeper than even Sleeper imagined.Dewey did not merely abandon idealism under the influence of William James, as most assume; he transformed it in a original way that, while wholly naturalistic, is a fusion of idealism and realism that overcomes both the former's "mind-stuff" and the latter's "in-itself reality." Dewey began his philosophical odyssey with the searing desire to eradicate the dualisms of mind versus world, phenomenal versus noumenal, perceptual versus conceptual.Post-Hegelian idealists agreed that this division is ultimately reconciled in the "absolute," though they disagreed about whether the absolute is psychological or cosmological, social or supernatural; knowable or unknowable.From the very beginning, Shook argues, Dewey accepted the psychological path as sketched by James Ward, and also Edward Caird's claim that the absolute must be knowable in some sense.Intriguingly, the missing link between perception and conceptualawareness is Wilhelm Wundt's notion of volition: percepts are neither mechanically attached to concepts nor are they overlaid by Kantian "faculties of mind."Instead,a disruption of perceptual or noncognitive experience generates a desire for reconciliation that calls forth ideas that diagnose the problem and suggest ways to resolve it.Achieved solutions, in turn, forge a background of habitual dispositions that shape interpretations within the noncognitive realm. While still an idealist, then, Shook finds the essential elements of the "method of inquiry" that later anchored Dewey's instrumentalism and pragmatism.Prior to 1890, however, he still construed this as individual "mental activity," and the problem of its relation to God's Absolute Mind remained.Upon relinquishing the supernatural for the social, however, this final obstacle was eliminated.The dispositional background extends beyond the individual to the customs, traditions, and values of a culture-indeed, even the barest notions of"self" and "reality" are inconceivable without reference to such a background.This is Dewey's broad conception of "experience"-a humanistic naturalism with no trace of mind-stuff or subjectivism.In this sense Dewey is a realist, though his affirmation of things-themselves (including things we have not or may never actually discover) avoids the things-in-themselves that is the bane of metaphysical realism.To claim that things exist without an experiential background ofhow we may find them to exist is at best empty verbiage, and at worst hypnosis by the dervishes of dualism. Scrupulous in research, penetrating in detail, Shook's presentation is so faithful to Dewey that it will undoubtedly draw many of the same criticisms once hurled at the master.Though careful readers will be able to identify "experience" in its broadly social and functional sense, others will be confused by applications as diverse as "mental activity," "soul," "reality," "the history of the earth," and even "the metaphysical ultimate." Similarly, like Dewey himself Shook occasionally fails to remind us that the background of experience helps set up direct noncognitive "havings," in the absence of which some will mistakenly construe a naive realism of immediate "relations to things." Finally, critics may try to capitalize on the fact that Shook fully scrutinizes only the first half of Dewey's career, leaving ample wiggle room for a shift toward conventional realism after 1920.I believe this supposition is unfounded, and that future investigators who follow Shook's initiative will find Dewey expanding his early fusion of idealism and realism into an authentic tertium quid that as yet remains largely unappreciated. If so, Shook's book is not only a nonpareil study in Dewey's development, but a gateway to his crowning reconstruction of philosophy.As an indispensable step in that direction, this is one of the most important books about Dewey ever written. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic! Dewey summary and an application thereof.
This book is tremendous--it provides an engaging entrance into the authors' dilemna (one all teachers have): How to teach usefully? Next is an excellent overview of Dewey's educational theories, and then a step-by-stepdescription of the authors' successful application into a collegeclassroom.I am so motivated now to try it myself. "They" saidit could not be done, but "they" were wrong! My response: Aaaahaahhhh! ... Read more

Book Description
This title sheds new light on the imaginative process, human emotional make-up and expression, and the nature of moral judgment.It presents a robust and distinctly pragmatic approach to ethics, politics, moral education, and moral conduct. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Connecting morality w/ imagination, emotion, and creativity
The Big Question, as any novice taking Ethics 101 knows,is "How ought one live?" But unless one thinks about what a moral experience is, or how we make sense of it, one cannot adequately answer that question. And while ethical principles are an indispensable part of ethical decision making, they are too often taken as much more than a part-i.e., as wholly sufficient. This imbalanced view usually leads to inflexibility and dogmatism. What we need instead, Fesmire says, is understand how imagination is integral to the way we actually make concrete choices in lived situations. And Fesmire does just that: by delving into the ways our social and historical connections help form our character and our beliefs; by showing that when we deliberate about a choice, we do so in a way that is imaginative and dramatic; and by showing how we can reconceive of moral conduct by interpreting it along more aesthetic and artistic lines.

This is an excellent book, both scholarly and readable. The book's mechanics are beautifully done, and there's a thorough bibliography and index. Fortunately, Fesmire is not an insular scholar, content with limning just the American tradition; he's a philosopher who has thought carefully about ethical approaches across multiple traditions and then explains where the shortfalls are-and why.His explorations of the imagination are done with care and style and they connect back to the ethical realities in which we all have to live and choose.

It's gratifying to see that the resurgent interest in pragmatist epistemology (that has accrued over the past twenty years) is finally blossoming in ethics. Along with recent books by William Caspary and Todd Lekan,Fesmire's book will help those who know pragmatism-and those who don't-to understand the resources and promises of pragmatism as equipment for living. ... Read more

Book Description
"This beautifully written work is the best general introduction to Dewey's philosophy. The exposition is greatly enriched by Campbell's provision of the historical context of Dewey's aims and enquiries". -- James Gouinlock Emory University

"Understanding John Dewey will be as useful to those coming to Dewey for the first time as to Dewey specialists. Few scholars combine as well as Campbell does deep knowledge of American intellectual history and skill in philosophical analysis". -- Peter H. Hare Editor, Transactions of the Peirce Society

"A book not merely readable but elegant and lucid, not merely adequate but exemplary in its scholarship. Campbell's exposition is a skillfully crafted matrix in which Dewey's own words achieve a momentum and clarity seldom achieved in their original settings, while a chorus, composed mostly of Dewey's contemporaries, provide illuminating commentary from Campbell's footnotes". -- International Studies in Philosophy ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a great introduction to an important thinker.
This is a great introduction to an important and often underrated thinker. This introduction is clear and well written so that it can serve as a great introduction to a layperson and not just a philosophy student.

Unfortunately Dewey is one of those figures whose work seems to be better known through reputation and hearsay rather than first hand knowledge. This book is a great way to acquire a real understanding of his thinking because the book extensively quotes Dewey directly while providing useful context.

Dewey has a very practical approach to philosophy and his work is uniquely applicable to daily life so I would recommend this book to anyone. The following is a quote from Dewey that illustrates this point nicely:

"Philosophy recovers itself when it ceases to be a device for dealing with the problems of philosophers and becomes a method, cultivated by philosophers, for dealing with the problems of men."

I'm note sure what the previous reviewer is talking about but his comments have nothing to do with this book and it is obvious he has not read the book. ... Read more

Book Description
Since 1979, when Richard Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirrorof Nature appeared, there has been a flood of new scholarship onthe philosophy of John Dewey. Surprisingly, little of this scholarshiphas thus far made its way into the field of education, where Dewey'sphilosophy has traditionally had a wide influence. Many of the authorsof this collection are philosophers who have created some of the mostoriginal and influential work in this new scholarship. Five of them --Larry Hickman, Thomas M. Alexander, Raymond D. Boisvert, and J.E.Tiles -- have written major books that have received wideinternational acclaim.
Among the philosophers of education some, like Philip W. Jackson, areamong the best known names in the entire international field, and havekept pace with Deweyan scholarship for many years. Others are youngerscholars who know the new scholarship well. Finally, two prominentfeminists contribute important new work on Dewey, expanding the domainof the new scholarship on Dewey. One of them, Susan Laird, has had herwork cited in the new biography of John Dewey by Robert Westbrook.
... Read more

Book Description
Written in a manner accessible to non-specialists, this book provides an introduction to all areas central to John Dewey's philosophy: aesthetics, social and political philosophy, education, the philosophy of religion, and theory of knowledge. Boisvert situates Dewey as a thinker who could appreciate the advance of science while remaining an "empirical naturalist" committed to the revelatory powers of lived experience. ... Read more

Book Description
This book lucidly and brilliantly demonstrates John Dewey's ongoing significance as an educational critic. After providing a fresh and provocative personal and intellectual biography of Dewey, this primer focuses on the relevance of his views of reflective thinking for both educational practice and theorizing about issues concerning curriculum, teaching, knowledge, ethics, moral education, constructivism, and perspectivism. This book also shows the crucial differences between reflective and dogmatic thinking and their implications for schooling, teaching, and learning. The work is a primer designed for courses in educational issues, educational foundations, introduction to education, and philosophy of education. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

why hasn't anybody ever thought of this before?
Dr. Popp's linking of Darwin and Dewey makes one wonder why it took so long for anyone to establish this "obvious" link. In short, Popp makes a compelling case for his thesis. As someone who holds a Ph.D. in a field not related to education, I don't pretend that I'm an expert in Dr.Popp's arena. Nonetheless, I have to think that serious students of history and philosophy of education would find this book a welcome and innovative approach to their field of research. ... Read more