"Montaigne grasped that, unlike philosophers in his day (or our own), [Epicurus and Seneca] sought not to inform their students, but instead to form them." I'm sure they did both, like conscientious teachers in every era. https://t.co/Wjba460hFu— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) June 29, 2020
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and social reformer who developed theories that changed philosophical perspectives and contributed extensively to education, democracy, pragmatism, and the philosophy of logic, politics, and aesthetics in the first half of the twentieth-century.
Born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1859, Dewey graduated from the University of Vermont in 1879. Following his graduation Dewey taught for a few years until he concluded that teaching at primary and secondary schools did not suit him. He enrolled at Johns Hopkins University to study for his PhD. After teaching at the University of Michigan and then at the University of Chicago, Dewey finally settled at Columbia University.
Dewey contributed substantially to various philosophical and interdisciplinary fields throughout his life, including aesthetics. He was, along with historians Charles A. Beard and James Harvey Robinson, and economist Thorstein Veblen, one of the founders of The New School, a private research university in New York City founded in 1919. In 1899 he was elected president of the American Psychological Association.
The principle of aesthetic philosophy is linked with theories of beauty, and the philosophy of art. Dewey’s most well-known work on aesthetics is his book, Art as Experience (1934). This was originally a speech he delivered at the first William James Lecture at Harvard University in 1932. Art and aesthetics, Dewey suggested, are intertwined inextricably with the culture and surroundings in which they stand. Therefore, to understand art and its aesthetic value, it is necessary to look at it within life and the outside experiences in which the art exists. As aesthetic experience bears organic origins, Dewey argued in Art and Experience that aesthetic experience can be recognised in everyday experiences, events, and surroundings.
Dewey’s theory on aesthetics has been a point of reference across various disciplines, which include psychology, pragmatics, democracy, and education, as well as new media; examples of which include computer animations and virtual worlds. His work has also been an inspiration to figures such as A.C. Barnes, founder of the Barnes Foundation, an art museum and educational institution. Barnes’s ideas of art in life, and the massive art collection he eventually accumulated in Philadelphia, were somewhat inspired by Dewey’s aesthetic philosophy, and he attended a seminar by Dewey in 1918 at Columbia University. Likewise, Dewey’s philosophy on aesthetic art drew some inspiration from the collections at the Barnes Foundation.
Dewey led a successful career which established him as a great, revered figure of modern western philosophy, and his work is still relevant to this day. Dewey lived a long, fulfilling, and successful life and career until his death on 1 June 1952 from pneumonia, aged 92. OUP
“We are not teaching children about philosophy,” Dr. Lone explained. “We’re teaching them to actually do philosophy themselves.” Yes, that’s my mission too. https://t.co/4ZtRHEwhax— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) June 26, 2020
Philosophy at an early age helps children to avoid dogmatic or radicalized stances later in life...They speak much more thoughtfully, less defensively, are less overwhelmed if someone disagrees with them, are open to doubting, to ambiguity and complexity. https://t.co/4ZtRHEwhax— Phil Oliver (@OSOPHER) June 26, 2020
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Jennifer Michael Hecht — Suicide, and Hope for Our Future Selves #SuicidePrevention #SuicideAwareness https://t.co/XXL8gSqLJP— Jennifer M. Hecht (@Freudeinstein) June 23, 2020
Fantasyland. Idiocracy. America. https://t.co/vs9b1QNbTg— Kurt Andersen (@KBAndersen) June 23, 2020
The Philosopher (@philosopher1923) tweeted at 3:26 PM on Sat, Jun 13, 2020: "Perhaps James’ philosophy of #freedom works only for those who genuinely can push against the forces that make them feel that life is not worth living." #power, #pragmatism & #freewill, in a review of @JohnKaag's 'Sick Souls, Healthy Minds' (@PrincetonUPress) by @RebeccaBuxton (https://twitter.com/philosopher1923/status/1271901655957532672?s=02) Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download?s=13
What could go wrong?????https://t.co/TyMBtVbgTJ— Robert Talisse (@RobertTalisse) June 12, 2020
"Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in."— Ethics in Bricks (@EthicsInBricks) June 7, 2020
- Isaac Asimov pic.twitter.com/PhtYwY93dj
Nigel Warburton
