Work

A Critical Assessment of Dewey's Attack on Dualism

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: This paper examines John Dewey's critique of idealism in The Quest for Certainty (1929) and other works and argues that his case was overstated and pedagogically misleading. While dualism has often been regarded primarily as a metaphysical doctrine, its positive value historically has been as a heuristic device, a mode of intellectual scaffolding that reifies thought itself and makes possible instruction in logic, reflective thought, and formal argumentation. A more sympathetic reading of the history looks at classical philosophers and their modern counterparts as workers who contributed to the world rather than hid from it in a realm of idealized perfection. The consequences for education of Dewey's attack on idealism are also examined.

Source: Journal of educational thought.

Parent work: Journal of Educational Thought / Revue de la Pensée Educative, Vol 35 No 1 (2001)

DOI: 10.55016/ojs/jet.v35i1.52708

Authors: Robert N. Carson, Stuart Rowlands

Institutions: Montana State University, University of Plymouth

Language: English

Topic: Pragmatism in Philosophy and Education

Subfield: Philosophy

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: green