Experimentalism (Pragmatism – Instrumentalism) Philosophy may be defined as the general theory of education John Dewey

Review – Branches of Philosophy Metaphysics The study of ultimate reality (what is real?) Epistemology The question of truth and knowledge (how knowing takes place, how we know that we know, how we decide what knowledge is most worth having…?) Axiology The question of value (value in what people do and enjoy) 11/12/2018 Dewey1

Review – Plato & Aristotle Metaphysics The World of Ideas, Forms The physical world and our perception/experience of it Epistemology A rational, orderly body of truth The discovery of logical, orderly truth of the external world Values Absolute, eternal, and universal Natural law The Learner A mind, soul, and spirit capable of emulating the Ideal An orderly, sensing, and rational being capable of understanding the world of things Education Spiritual and intellectual development Development of the rational faculties and proper dispositions (a balance between passion & reason) 11/12/2018 Dewey1

Pragmatism – Metaphysics Experience It is our inquiry rather than the “real” world, that is the author of of genuine and authentic reality Transaction We do things to the world, and then we undergo the consequences (intelligence is our ability to associate our doings with their consequences) Process Reality is a process: Experience Educational Implications Subject matter of social experience, the social studies 11/12/2018 Dewey1

Pragmatism – Epistemology Knowing as a process A kind of dialectic with cosmos, reflective thinking Inquiry / Scientific method The Complete Act of Thought (see the schema of scientific method) Truth as what works Only experience that is common to everyone, testable and warranted is capable of yielding what we call knowledge Educational Implications Problem solving, project method 11/12/2018 Dewey1

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Pragmatism – Axiology Ethics: The public test Every ethical situation arises from a desire to improve some state of affairs Aesthetics: The public taste The work of art and is what the product does with and in experience Educational Implications Making group decisions in light of consequences Participating in art projects 11/12/2018 Dewey1