American Philosophy

This extensive timeline is full of links to other parts of the World Wide Web, but includes short descriptions and pictures to entice your interest. The subtitle of the site reads: "emphasizing Philosophy, Theology, and Political Theory."

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This text delves into Dewey's philosophy of education, looking at the complex ways in which human beings come to know things, how education is necessary for the survival of the species. Dewey investigates education as a social reality, and how learning contributes to the growth and direction of cultural progress and the relationship between education and a thriving, free democracy. To see the direction Dewey takes, one might simply look at the chapter names, which include, "Interest and Discipline," "Experience and Thinking," "Thinking in Education." The pragmatic insistence on method, and the aim of integrating the subject matter with the goals of education -- whether the values associated with a free thinking democracy or some other evolving social experiment -- in order to produce a cultural history that is worthy of human and environmental energies.

Dewey then takes a look at what would define the term, education, and rethinks notions associated with classical, usually Greek and Roman models. "Play and Work in the Curriculum," "Labor and Leisure," "The Significance of Geography and History," "Science in the Course of Study" as educational values.

The text then gets somewhat more speculative, with attempts to describe a "Philosophy of Education." Dewey can speak about epistemology or "Theories of Knowledge," but the next breath -- and in this case, the next chapter -- will be about ethical and moral behavior: "Theories of Morals."

Other Online Articles by John Dewey

• Individual Psychology and Education by John Dewey
• The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology by John Dewey

Also of interest:

• Center for Dewey Studies
• Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy

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From the APS Web Site:

An eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, the American Philosophical Society promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach. This country's first learned society, the APS has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life for over 250 years...

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