Transforming Experience: John Dewey's Cultural Instrumentalism (The Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy) PDF
Preview Transforming Experience: John Dewey's Cultural Instrumentalism (The Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy)
Transforming Experience : John Dewey's title: Cultural Instrumentalism Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy author: Eldridge, Michael. publisher: Vanderbilt University Press isbn10 | asin: 0826513190 print isbn13: 9780826513199 ebook isbn13: 9780585146843 language: English Dewey, John,--1859-1952, Instrumentalism subject (Philosophy) publication date: 1998 lcc: B945.D44E43 1998eb ddc: 191 Dewey, John,--1859-1952, Instrumentalism subject: (Philosophy) Page i Transforming Experience Page ii The Vanderbilt Library of American Philosophy offers interpretive perspectives on the historical roots of American philosophy and on present innovative developments in American thought, including studies of values, naturalism, social philosophy, cultural criticism, and applied ethics. General Editor Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. Texas A&M University Editorial Advisory Board Kwame Anthony Appiah (Harvard) John Lachs (Vanderbilt) John J. McDennott (Texas A&M) Joel Porte (Cornell) Hilary Putnam (Harvard) Ruth Anna Putnam (Wellesley) Charlene Haddock Seigfried (Purdue) Beth J. Singer (Brooklyn College) John J. Stuhr (Pennsylvania State) Other recently published titles in the series include Elements of Knowledge: Pragmatism, Logic, and Inquiry Revised and Expanded Edition Arthur Franklin Stewart The Loyal Physician: Roycean Ethics and the Practice of Medicine Griffin Trotter His Glassy Essence: An Autobiography of Charles Sanders Peirce Kenneth Laine Ketner Rorty and Pragmatism: The Philosopher Responds to His Critics edited by Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. Genuine Individuals and Genuine Communities: A Roycean Public Philosophy Jacquelyln Ann K. Kegley The Continuity of Peirce's Thought Kelly A. Parker The Philosophy of Loyalty New Paperback Edition Josiah Royce Intensity: An Essay in Whiteheadian Ontology Judith A. Jones The Relevance of Philosophy to Life John Lachs Page iii Transforming Experience John Dewey's Cultural Instrumentalism Michael Eldridge Vanderbilt University Press Nashville and London Page iv Copyright © 1998 by Vanderbilt University Press All rights reserved First Edition 1998 98 99 00 01 4 3 2 1 This publication is made from high-quality paper that meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Eldridge, Michael. Transforming experience: John Dewey's cultural instrumentalism / Michael Eldridge. 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8265-1307-7. ISBN 0-8265-1319-0 (pbk.) 1. Dewey, John, 1859-1952. 2. Instrumentalism (Philosophy) I. Title. B945.D44E43 1997 191dc21 97-45427 CIP Manufactured in the United States of America Page v In memory of Ralph W. Sleeper Page vii Contents Preface ix 1. Introduction: Dewey's Lifelong Effort 3 Dewey's Project 4 My Project 7 2. Intelligent Practice: Dewey's Project 13 Rorty's Challenge 14 Dewey's Natural Intelligence 17 Intelligence as an End-in-View: The Philosophic Move 26 Experience and Its Possibilities 36 3. Transforming Society: Dewey's Cultural 43 Instrumentalism Misreading Dewey 44 The Dewey-Niebuhr "Debate" 52 Dewey and the Means for Social Reconstruction 62 "Genuine Instrumentality" and Democratic Means 67 Dewey's Limited Success 82 4. A Transforming Society: Democratic Means and Ends 85 Dewey as a Political Inquirer 87 Ordered Richness 97 Instrumentalism and Ideals in Dewey 109 Looking Ahead: A Matter of Faith 123 5. Dewey's Religious Proposal 126 Handling Dewey's Religious Proposal with Care 127 Dewey's Faith 130 A Common Faith 145 Religion: Not Dewey's Problem 167 6. The Secularity of Deweyan Criticism 170 Dewey's Secular Approach 171 Social Intelligence and Secular Humanism 178 The LimitationsReal and Allegedof Dewey's 184 Instrumentalism "Thoughtful Valuation" and the Cultural Orientation of Dewey's Instrumentalism 194 Notes 203 Bibliography 224 Index 230 Page ix Preface During the time the initial draft of the manuscript that was to become this book was under review for publication, I accompanied my wife to Atlanta. While Sue was attending her conference, I worked in Emory University's library. Also, since I was to be on campus, I arranged to have lunch with Emory philosopher Jim Gouinlock, who, once he learned of my project, wanted to know what it was about. Always before when someone would ask, I would reply, "Dewey wrote an immense amount over a very long time. He was active well into his eighties. The collected works comprise thirty-seven volumes in the edition published by Southern Illinois University Press. Well, I am trying to make sense out of all this. I am trying to summarize Dewey's project." But in replying to the knowledgeable questions of a respected Dewey scholar (and in reflecting later on what I had said), it became clear to me just what my take on Dewey was. I realized that my version of Dewey was both more pragmatic and more secular than that of others. This is not what I had set out to do. Originally I had wanted to write a book that would summarize his project and "save Dewey whole." I was going to show how Dewey's philosophy fit together, forming a coherent whole. This had been the promise of a paper that I had read at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in 1985; finally, in 1993, I began to complete that program. Santayana and others who had tried to split Dewey up were wrong; the integrity of Dewey's work could be shown. But the book did not turn out as planned. I did discover what unifies Dewey's thinkinghis effort to increase the intelligence of our practices. But in so doing I found myself deconstructing his religious proposal. Much to my surprise, I found myself siding with Sidney Hook on the
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