Becoming John Dewey: Dilemmas of a Philosopher and Naturalist

Tapping archival sources and Dewey's extensive correspondence, Dalton reveals that Dewey had close personal and intellectual ties to scientists and scholars that were influential in forming the mature expression of his thought. Dalton traces the not-always-smooth pathways that led Dewey to shed his Calvinist upbringing to transform Hegelian phenomenology into a science of mind, to challenge Freudian psychology, and to articulate the central concerns of naturalism and pragmatism. Dewey's relationships with F. M. Alexander, Henri Matisse, Niels Bohr, Myrtle McGraw, and Lawrence K. Frank, among others, show how Dewey drew upon these collaborations to disperse pragmatism throughout American thought and culture. As one of America's "public intellectuals," John Dewey was engaged in a life-long struggle to understand the human mind and the nature of human inquiry. According to Thomas C. Dalton, the successful pursuit of this mission demanded that Dewey become more than just a philosopher; it compelled him to become thoroughly familiar with the theories and methods of physics, psychology, the neurosciences, and to become engaged in educational and social reform. Tapping archival sources and Dewey's extensive correspondence, Dalton reveals that Dewey had close personal and intellectual ties to scientists and scholars that were influential in forming the mature expression of his thought. Dalton traces the not-always-smooth pathways that led Dewey to shed his Calvinist upbringing to transform Hegelian phenomenology into a science of mind, to challenge Freudian psychology, and to articulate the central concerns of naturalism and pragmatism. Dewey's relationships with F. M. Alexander, Henri Matisse, Niels Bohr, Myrtle McGraw, and Lawrence K. Frank, among others, show how Dewey drew upon these collaborations to disperse pragmatism throughout American thought and culture. Dalton also considers how Dewey's successors have become divided about his conceptions of science and naturalism and how contemporary philosophy might remain true to the spirit of Dewey's experimentation. In it's focus beyond individual genius, Becoming John Dewey will appeal to readers interested in all aspects of Dewey's philosophy and the intellectual climate that nurtured his original ideas.

Table of Contents:
Preliminary Acknowledgments Introduction: Originality in Social Context Part 1. Sublime Reason and the Comforts of Doubt 1. From Calvinism to Evolutionism 2. Healing an "Inward Laceration" 3. Experimentalist in the Making Part 2. Rendezvous with the New York Avant Garde 4. Contrasting Strategies of Educational Innovation 5. Cultural Disillusionment 6. The Evolution of Mind in Nature Part 3. The Transformational Potential of Consciousness in Art, Politics, and Science 7. Post-Impressionism, Quantum Mechanics, and the Triumph of Phenomenal Experience 8. Communities of Intelligence and the Politics of Spirit 9. The Function of Judgment in Inquiry 10. Locomotion as a Metaphor for Mind Part 4. Naturalism Lost and Found 11. Cultural Pragmatism and the Disappearance of Dewey's Naturalism Conclusion: The Revival of Dewey's Naturalism Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Thomas C. Dalton is Senior Research Associate with the Office of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is co-author (with V. W. Bergenn) of Early Experience and the Brain: An Historical and Interdisciplinary Synthesis, and co-editor (with Rand Evans) of Reflections in the Mirror of Psychology's Past: Understanding Prominence and the Dynamics of Intellectual Change and (with V. W. Bergenn) of Beyond Heredity and Environment: Myrtle McGraw and the Maturation Controversy. His scholarly research interests include historical studies of the developmental sciences, theoretical studies of consciousness, and the philosophy of mind.

Review :
". . . will be useful to scholars seeking a biographical account of the coherent development of Dewey's research program toward a naturalized theory of judgment. Highly recommended."—Choice