The logic of democracy and education

Abstract

To the best of my knowledge; no one has ever exploited the relationship between Democracy and Education and Dewey’s logical theory as presented in these other works. Doing so not only lends textual evidence to the important relationship between Dewey’s logical theory and Democracy and Education; it reinforces Dewey’s claim that Democracy and Education best represents his philosophy in general. Democracy and Education evinces arguments regarding logical theory that Dewey hadn’t yet made in his published works on logical theory. These arguments concern the role and scope of scientific method in the context of the practice of teaching and the social psychology of learning. Attention to scientific method and to the habits and dispositions of the student-as-learner will be my focus. I argue that these arguments find their way into Dewey’s later logical theory; represented in Logic: the Theory of Inquiry (1938) under the rubrics of ‘the existential matrix of inquiry’ and ‘social inquiry.’ In particular; the accounts of habit; adaptation; and interaction in Chapter 2 of Dewey’s Logic; together with the account of social problems and their resolution in a genuine determination as discussed in Chapter 24; are indebted to Chapters 11–14 of Democracy and Education. And for this reason alone; Democracy and Education should be considered among the most important of Dewey’s influences regarding the development of his logical theory.