John Dewey and the Philosopher's Task

by Philip W. Jackson

In what may be Philip Jackson's best work yet, readers are taken on a fascinating journey into the mind of John Dewey. By analyzing Dewey's attempts to revise the introduction to one of his most important books, Experience and Nature, Jackson explores Dewey's efforts (both intellectually and emotionally) to explain the all-important relationship between philosophy and human affairs. This story of Dewey's life-long struggle with a complex philosophical...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807741655
• ISBN13: 9780807741658
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.3" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

a glimpse into the philosopher's personal struggle

Prof. Jackson takes up the evolution of John Dewey's philosophy by focusing on the shifts in perspective and the shift in terminology in successive rewrites Dewey produced for his work "Experience and Nature."The voice Prof. Jackson uses is that of a friend. Someone who has taken up philosophy as a profession, and who reflects on the fruitfulness of the endeavor.Dewey scholars will find much new and interesting to contemplate. And I came away with a fresh sense of compassion for John Dewey, the human person struggling to understand.More than this, however, is Prof. Jackson's personal and personable thoughts about his own experience with this work. What happens here is, in effect, a glimpse into the mind of a philosopher who struggles to get a glimpse into the mind of a philosopher. With both efforts directed towards an understanding of the profession of philosophy. And where we end up is with a good insight into the very human and very well-intended process of DOING philosophy humanely. Thank-you, Prof. Jackson.