America's Public Philosopher: Essays on Social Justice, Economics, Education, and the Future of Democracy

John Dewey was America’s greatest public philosopher. His work stands out for its remarkable breadth, and his deep commitment to democracy led him to courageous progressive stances on issues such as war, civil liberties, and racial, class, and gender inequalities. This book collects the clearest and most powerful of his public writings and shows how they continue to speak to the challenges we face today. An introductory essay and short introductions to each of the texts discuss the current relevance and significance of Dewey’s work and legacy. The book includes forty-six essays on topics such as democracy in the United States, political power, education, economic justice, science and society, and philosophy and culture. These essays inspire optimism for the possibility of a more humane public and political culture, in which citizens share in the pursuit of lifelong education through participation in democratic life. The essays in America’s Public Philosopher reveal John Dewey as a powerful example for anyone seeking to address a wider audience and a much-needed voice for all readers in search of intellectual and moral leadership.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction: Democratic Faith and Education in Unstable Times, by Eric Thomas Weber Part I: Democracy and the United States 1. Democracy Is Radical 2. Address to National Negro Conference 3. A Symposium on Woman’s Suffrage 4. The Challenge of Democracy to Education 5. America in the World 6. Our National Dilemma 7. Pragmatic America 8. The Basic Values and Loyalties of Democracy 9. Creative Democracy—The Task Before Us Part II: Politics and Power 10. Politics and Culture 11. Intelligence and Power 12. Force, Violence, and the Law 13. Why I Am Not a Communist 14. Dualism and the Split Atom 15. Is There Hope for Politics? 16. A Liberal Speaks Out for Liberalism 17. Future of Liberalism Part III: Education 18. What Is a School For? 19. Dewey Outlines Utopian Schools 20. Industrial Education—A Wrong Kind 21. Why Have Progressive Schools? 22. Can Education Share in Social Reconstruction? 23. Nationalizing Education 24. The Teacher and the Public 25. Democracy and Education in the World of Today Part IV: Social Ethics and Economic Justice 26. Capitalistic or Public Socialism? 27. Does Human Nature Change? 28. The Ethics of Animal Experimentation 29. Ethics and International Relations 30. Dewey Describes Child’s New World 31. The Collapse of a Romance 32. The Economic Situation: A Challenge to Education 33. The Jobless—A Job for All of Us Part V: Science and Society 34. The Influence of Darwinism on Philosophy 35. Science, Belief and the Public 36. Social Science and Social Control 37. Education and Birth Control 38. The Supreme Intellectual Obligation 39. The Revolt against Science Part VI: Philosophy and Culture 40. The Case of the Professor and the Public Interest 41. Social Absolutism 42. Some Factors in Mutual National Understanding 43. The Basis for Hope 44. Art as Our Heritage 45. The Value of Historical Christianity 46. What Humanism Means to Me References Index

About the Author :
John Dewey (1859–1952) was a philosopher, psychologist, educational reformer, and public intellectual. He was a founder of a distinctly American philosophical tradition, pragmatism, and a progressive thinker who spoke out widely on the most important questions of his day. Eric Thomas Weber is associate professor of educational policy studies and evaluation at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South (2015) and Democracy and Leadership: On Pragmatism and Virtue (2013), among other books. He is executive director of the Society of Philosophers in America and cohost of the Philosophy Bakes Bread radio show and podcast.

Review :
In these troubled times, Eric Thomas Weber has compiled a magnificent set of essays by John Dewey, the preeminent American public philosopher of the twentieth century. With the help of Weber’s commentaries, all Americans will be able to see how Dewey still speaks to us today, with wisdom and urgency. In this collection Eric Weber presents expertly curated essays by one of America’s great public intellectuals. John Dewey’s insights into the core issues of American life, then as now, are as fresh today as when they were first published. They provide ample evidence of his continuing relevance for our exceptional time. John Dewey is the American philosopher of democracy. He understood that democracy, making choices together, is an end in itself, and that attempts to short-circuit democratic processes in the name of something else, whether it’s ethnic nationalism or globalization, diminish us as human beings. His wisdom never goes out of style. There is no better (or worse) time to read him again. This is an outstanding collection, unique and most timely, that should receive attention from the sphere of public policy and politics. Weber has chosen writings that speak to America and the world today. An illuminating, succinct introduction that amplifies Dewey's interest in society as well as his hopeful idealism and belief in the divine. . . . Highly recommended.