Public and Its Problems

by Dewey, John

• ISBN13: 9780804002547
• ISBN10: 0804002541
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-18
• Publisher: Swallow Pr

Summary

In The Public and Its Problems, a classic of social and political philosophy, John Dewey exhibits his strong faith in the potential of human intelligence to solve the public's problems. In his characteristic provocative style, Dewey clarifies the meaning and implications of such concepts as "the public," "the state," "government," and "political democracy." He distinguishes his a posterior reasoning from a priori reasoning, which, he argues permeates less meaningful discussion of basic concepts. Dewey repeatedly demonstrates the interrelationships between fact and theory.

Table of Contents

Foreword (written in 1927)	i
Afterword (written in 1946)	221
Search for the Public	3	(34)
Divergence of facts and theoretical interpretations concerning the nature of the state	3	(2)
Practical import of theories	5	(4)
Theories in terms of causal origin	9	(3)
Theory in terms of perceived consequences	12	(1)
Distinction of private and public substituted for that of individual and social	13	(9)
The influence of association	22	(4)
Plurality of associations	26	(1)
Criterion of the public	27	(1)
Function of the state	28	(4)
The state as an experimental problem	32	(2)
Summary	34	(3)
Discovery of the State	37	(38)
Public and state	38	(1)
Geographical extent	39	(4)
Multiplicity of states	43	(4)
Spread of consequences	47	(6)
Law is not command	53	(2)
Law and reasonableness	55	(2)
The public and long-established habits of action	57	(2)
Fear of the new	59	(3)
Irreparable consequences	62	(3)
Variation of state-functions according to circumstances of time and place	65	(1)
State and government	66	(3)
State and society	69	(4)
The pluralistic theory	73	(2)
The Democratic State	75	(35)
Private and representative roles of officials	76	(2)
Selection of rulers by irrelevant methods	78	(4)
The problem of control of officials	82	(1)
Meanings of democracy	83	(1)
Fallacy as to origin of democratic government	84	(1)
Influence of non-political factors	85	(1)
The origin of ``individualism,''	86	(4)
Influence of the new industry; the theory of ``natural'' economic laws	90	(3)
James Mill's philosophy of democratic government	93	(2)
Criticism of ``individualism,''	95	(7)
Criticism of antithesis of natural and artificial	102	(2)
Wants and aims as functions of social life	104	(4)
Persistence of pre-industrial institutions	108	(1)
Final problem	109	(1)
Eclipse of the Public	110	(33)
Local origin of American democratic government	111	(3)
National unification due to technological factors	114	(2)
Submergence of the public	116	(1)
Disparity of inherited ideas and machinery with actual conditions	117	(2)
Illustrations of resulting failures	119	(3)
Problem of discovering the public	122	(1)
Democracy versus the expert	123	(3)
Explanation of eclipse of public	126	(1)
Illustrated by the World War	127	(2)
Application of criteria of the public	129	(2)
Failure of traditional principles	131	(3)
Political apathy accounted for	134	(1)
Need of experts	135	(3)
Rivals of political interest	138	(3)
Ideals and instrumentalities	141	(2)
Search for the Great Community	143	(42)
Democracy as idea and as governmental behavior	143	(4)
Problem of the Great Community	147	(1)
Meaning of the democratic ideal	148	(1)
Democracy and community life	149	(2)
Community and associated activity	151	(1)
Communication and the community	152	(3)
Intellectual conditions of the Great Community	155	(3)
Habit and intelligence	158	(5)
Science and knowledge	163	(3)
Limitations upon social inquiry	166	(5)
Isolation of social inquiry	171	(1)
Pure and applied science	172	(1)
Communication and public opinion	173	(3)
Limitations of distribution of knowledge	176	(7)
Communication as art	183	(2)
The Problem of Method	185	(48)
Antithesis between individual and social as obstruction to method	186
Meaning of individual	185	(6)
Where opposition lies	191	(3)
Meaning of absolutistic logic	194	(2)
Illustration from doctrine of ``evolution,''	196	(1)
From psychology	197	(2)
Difference of human and physical science	199	(3)
Experimental inquiry as alternative	202	(1)
Method, and government by experts	203	(3)
Democracy and education by discussion	206	(4)
The level of intelligence	210	(1)
The necessity of local community life	211	(2)
Problem of restoration	213	(2)
Tendencies making for reestablishment	215	(2)
Connection of this problem with the problem of political intelligence	217	(16)
Index	233