Classical American Philosophy: John Dewey

PHIL 577C – Spring 2023

Class Meeting Time
Mondays 3:00-5:30pm
Location
Morris Library | Room 0044 (Center for Dewey Studies)
Office Hours
Tues/Wednesday 3-5pm
Morris Library | Room 0044 (Center for Dewey Studies)
Contact Info
Email me at . I do not currently have regular access to an office phone.

Course Description & Learning Objectives

An examination of such themes in John Dewey’s philosophy as the influence of Darwin, nature and experience, aesthetics, technology and democracy.

John Dewey was the preeminent philosopher in America in the first half of the twentieth century. He lived from just before the start of the Civil War to just after World War II, a participant in the many changes to American life over that period. In a career spanning seven decades, Dewey contributed to nearly every area of philosophy, including ethics and political philosophy, logic, aesthetics to philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and epistemology, as well as making major contributions to scientific psychology, to education theory, and to American and global politics. He also wrote often on “metaphilosophical” topics concerning the nature of philosophy and inquiry broadly. We will examine the breadth of his philosophy as well as try to understand how his metaphilosophical ideas inform his various philosophical writings.

This course has four primary objectives:

  1. To demonstrate knowledge of a significant scope of John Dewey’s body of philosophical work,
  2. To inquire into the extent to which Dewey’s work in various fields is a consistent application of, or departs from, Dewey’s core philosophical commitments and views about the nature of philosophy and philosophical method,
  3. To produce a polished work of scholarship relevant about or drawing on Dewey’s philosophical work that contributes to each students’ larger educational and professional goals, and
  4. To develop skills of self-directed and collaborative learning in philosophical inquiry.

This course will be highly tailored to the students taking it. After looking at Dewey’s understanding of his historical and cultural context, we will turn to an examination of his writings on his core philosophical orientation, the nature of philosophy, and the methods of inquiry. Then we will turn to more specific areas of research, depending upon the interests of the seminar participants. In each case, part of our interest will lie on investigating how Dewey applied his methodological and metaphilosophical ideas to the specific area in question.

Required Texts

Abbreviations in (parentheses) are used to give page numbers for readings in the course schedule below.

Dewey would be the first to argue that the historical and biographical context in which a philosopher writes is key to understanding their ideas. Thus, I recommend you read a biography of Dewey throughout the term. In my view, the best one is:

  • Jay Martin, The Education of John Dewey

There are also many different guides and reference works on John Dewey available, both generally and on specific topics. Some of the better options are:

  • Reading Dewey, ed. Hickman
  • Hildebrand, Dewey: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Hildebrand, “John Dewey” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • Boisvert, John Dewey: Rethinking Our Time
  • Fesmire, The Oxford Handbook of Dewey

Course Schedule

Course Schedule

  1. Dewey on His Historical and Cultural Context (1/23)
  2. Starting with Experience / Practice (1/30)
  3. Dewey’s Naturalistic Orientation (2/6)
  4. Philosophy as Reconstruction and Criticism (2/13)
  5. Dewey’s Method: The Pattern of Inquiry (2/20)
  6. The John Dewey Special Collections and Archival Research (2/27)
    • Special Guest: Nicholas Guardiano
  7. Dewey’s Method: Denotative Method (3/6)
  8. Spring Break (3/13)
  9. Dewey on Art (3/20)
  10. Dewey on Religion (3/27)
  11. Dewey’s Philosophy of Mind (4/3)
  12. Dewey’s Naturalistic Theory of Inquiry (4/10)
    • Presentation by AL
    • Assignment Due: Term Paper Draft (Thurs 4/13)
  13. Writing Workshop (4/27)
  14. Dewey’s Philosophy of Language (4/24)
  15. Dewey’s Theory of Value (5/1)
  16. Final Exam Week
    • Assignment Due (on May 10): Final Term Paper

Assignments and Grading

  1. Participation in class discussions, workshops, etc. (20%)
  2. In-class presentations (30%)
  3. Term paper (50%)

Participation

Participating will consist of regular, high-quality contributions to class discussion, respectful responses to other students’ contributions, and collaboration in writing workshops and other activities.

In-Class Presentations

Most weeks of the semester will be guided by student choice of specific topics. The presenter(s) for each week will work with the instructor to choose a topic and relevant readings, and will then provide an introductory presentation meant to spur discussion. The presenter(s) and instructor will lead the discussion for the day together.

Term Paper

Your paper should either provide an interpretation of some aspect of Dewey’s philosophical body of work or explore a broadly Deweyan approach to some philosophical topic or problem. Papers can be in a primarily interpretive, systematic, or critical mode. It is my hope that your paper will both contribute to your own larger set of interests as part of your graduate program while constituting a serious engagement with the issues discussed in the course. Particularly of interest are papers that touch on aspects of Dewey’s philosophy w/ reference to either his theory of inquiry or his metaphilosophical commitments. The goal is to produce a paper of near-publishable quality that can then be used as the basis for a publication, or as the basis of a dissertation proposal or chapter, a master’s thesis, etc.

To ease your workload, your paper topic should coincide with one of your presentations.

Outside Research

This is a research paper, and you are required to include primary and secondary sources not assigned in the syllabus for the course; type and amount will very depending on the topic and aims of your paper.

Stage 1: Prospectus

  1. 200-300 words that (a) describe the question or problem your paper seeks to address, (b) clearly state the thesis you plan to argue for in the paper, (c) sketch the plan for your paper.
  2. List of 6-10 references to primary and secondary sources that you plan to include in the paper

Stage 2: Term Paper Draft

A 2100-3000 word draft of your term paper. The paper should present a complete and coherent argument, though it may not be as extensive or thorough as the final version.

The week after drafts are due, we will hold a peer-review writing workshop in class.

Stage 3: Term Paper Final

3000-5000 words, substantially revised based on peer feedback from drafts and writing workshop.

Paper specifications

Your paper should do all of the following:

  • Must contain a clear, easily identifiable, declarative thesis.
    • Not “In this paper I will explore…”
    • Rather: “In this paper I will argue that…”
  • The points discussed should be specific and textually supported, engaged with both the primary texts and the secondary literature on the topic.
  • Deeper discussions are generally preferable to broad overviews.
  • You should consider and respond to alternative interpretations and objections to your argument.
  • Must consistently follow a major manual of style (MLA, Chicago, APA, etc.) for grammar, citations, and bibliography.
  • Paper must have a descriptive title.