The Education of John Dewey

by Martin, Jay

• ISBN13: 9780231116763
• ISBN10: 0231116764
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-12-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

During John Dewey's lifetime (1859-1952), one public opinion poll after another revealed that he was esteemed to be one of the ten most important thinkers in American history. His body of thought, conventionally identified by the shorthand word "Pragmatism," has been the distinctive American philosophy of the last fifty years. His work on education is famous worldwide and is still influential today, anticipating as it did the ascendance in contemporary American pedagogy of multiculturalism and independent thinking. His University of Chicago Laboratory School (founded in 1896) thrives still and is a model for schools worldwide, especially in emerging democracies. But how was this lifetime of thought enmeshed in Dewey's emotional experience, in his joys and sorrows as son and brother, husband and father, and in his political activism and spirituality? Acclaimed biographer Jay Martin recaptures the unity of Dewey's life and work, tracing important themes through the philosopher's childhood years, family history, religious experience, and influential friendships. Based on original sources, notably the vast collection of unpublished papers in the Center for Dewey Studies, this book tells the full story, for the first time, of the life and times of the eminent American philosopher, pragmatist, education reformer, and man of letters. In particular, The Education of John Dewey highlights the importance of the women in Dewey's life, especially his mother, wife, and daughters, but also others, including the reformer Jane Addams and the novelist Anzia Yezierska. A fitting tribute to a master thinker, Martin has rendered a tour de force portrait of a philosopher and social activist in full, seamlessly reintegrating Dewey's thought into both his personal life and the broader historical themes of his time.

Author Biography

Jay Martin has written and edited twenty-one books, Formerly Leo S. Bing Professor of English at the University of Southern California, he is currently a psychoanalyst in private practice and Edward S. Gould Professor of Humanities, professor of government, and founder of the Questions of Civilization Program at Claremont McKenna College

Table of Contents

Book I Emergence	1	(144)
Childhood	5	(14)
The Christian Influence	19	(6)
The Beginning of John Dewey's Education	25	(21)
A Career in Teaching?	46	(12)
A Career in Philosophy?	58	(10)
Dewey's Philosophic Influences	68	(6)
Becoming a Philosopher	74	(6)
Finding Both a Philosophic Niche and a Job	80	(11)
Dewey in Love	91	(8)
Dewey's Philosophy Expands	99	(9)
Dewey's Reputation Builds	108	(3)
Fred Dewey	111	(6)
To Minnesota and Back to Michigan	117	(3)
Writing About Ethics	120	(4)
A Utopian Deception	124	(8)
Family Life	132	(5)
Harper and the University of Chicago	137	(8)
Book II Experience	145	(156)
Wealth and Poverty	149	(5)
Evelyn Dewey	154	(4)
Another Kind of Education	158	(21)
Morris Dewey	179	(4)
Overworking at the University of Chicago	183	(3)
More Publications	186	(13)
Progressive Education	199	(4)
The Lab School	203	(7)
Resignation	210	(5)
Lucy Dewey	215	(3)
Jane Dewey	218	(5)
Columbia Comes to the Rescue	223	(5)
Back to Europe	228	(3)
Starting Over	231	(7)
The Gorky Affair	238	(4)
Five Arcs of Activities	242	(8)
More Publications	250	(8)
Dewey's Teaching Style	258	(5)
War	263	(6)
New Restrictions	269	(6)
The Aftermath	275	(3)
The Polish Project	278	(7)
Alexander's Influence on Dewey	285	(2)
A Philadelphia Story	287	(6)
Dewey's Interest in Poland	293	(8)
Book III Engagement	301	(204)
Alice's Depression	306	(4)
On to Japan	310	(4)
China and ``New Culture''	314	(13)
No League and No War	327	(3)
Sabino Dewey	330	(3)
Idealism Corrupted	333	(2)
Now to Turkey	335	(6)
Then to Mexico	341	(3)
Losing Alice	344	(6)
Dewey Among the Soviets	350	(8)
Three More Books	358	(4)
The Gifford Lectures	362	(6)
Enjoying Life Again	368	(3)
Dewey Turns Seventy	371	(5)
The Stock Market Crash and Its Aftermath	376	(11)
Dewey's Political Philosophy	387	(11)
Dewey's Interest in the Arts	398	(8)
The Last Educational Mission	406	(1)
Leon Trotsky	407	(17)
Dewey's Logic	424	(7)
Dewey and Valuation	431	(3)
Dewey's Eightieth Birthday Celebration	434	(5)
Education and Freedom	439	(3)
Bertrand Russell	442	(7)
More Controversies	449	(10)
Further Views on Education	459	(5)
After the War	464	(3)
John and Roberta	467	(8)
The Last Birthday Celebration	475	(3)
The End	478	(10)
Last Words	488	(17)
Acknowledgments	505	(6)
Notes	511	(28)
Index	539