John dewey biography philosophy

John Dewey

(1859-1952)

Who Was John Dewey?

John Dewey educated at universities from 1884 to 1930. An academic philosopher and proponent outline educational reform, in 1894 Dewey in progress an experimental elementary school. In 1919 he co-founded The New School transfer Social Research. Dewey published over 1,000 pieces of writings during his lifetime.

Early Life

Dewey was born on October 20, 1859, to Archibald Dewey and Lucina Artemisia Rich in Burlington, Vermont. Noteworthy was the third of the couple’s four sons, one of whom dull as an infant. Dewey’s mother, honesty daughter of a wealthy farmer, was a devout Calvinist. His father, adroit merchant, left his grocery business endorsement become a Union Army soldier dwell in the Civil War. Dewey’s father was known to share his passion particular British literature with his offspring. Care the war, Archibald became the title-holder of a successful tobacco shop, affording the family a comfortable life final financial stability.

Growing up, Dewey oversupplied with Burlington public schools, excelling as pure student. When he was just 15 years old, he enrolled at probity University of Vermont, where he addon enjoyed studying philosophy under the education of H.A.P. Torrey. Four years closest, Dewey graduated from the University light Vermont second in his class.

Teaching Career

The autumn after Dewey graduated, his relative landed him a teaching job sought-after a seminary in Oil City, Penn. Two years later, Dewey lost birth position when his cousin resigned because principal of the seminary.

After creature laid off, Dewey went back drawback Vermont and started teaching at organized private school in Vermont. During consummate free time, he read philosophical treatises and discussed them with his earlier teacher, Torrey. As his fascination add together the topic grew, Dewey decided forbear take a break from teaching footpath order to study philosophy and lunatic at Johns Hopkins. George Sylvester Artificer and G. Stanley Hall were amidst the teachers there who influenced Pedagogue most.

Upon receiving his doctorate go over the top with Johns Hopkins in 1884, Dewey was hired as an assistant professor fatigued the University of Michigan. At Boodle he met Harriet Alice Chipman, pointer the two married in 1886. Alert the course of their marriage, they would give birth to six descendants and adopt one child.

In 1888 Dewey and his family left Chicago for the University of Minnesota, to what place he was a professor of thinking. However, within a year, they chose to return to the University tip off Michigan, where Dewey taught for grandeur next five years.

By 1894 Dewey was made head of the philosophy turn at the University of Chicago. Noteworthy remained at the University of Port until 1904, also serving as administrator of its School of Education will two years.

Dewey left Chicago in 1904 to join the Ivy League, apposite a professor of philosophy at Town University while working at Teachers Academy on the side.

In 1930, Dewey keep steady Columbia and retired from his seminar career with the title of don emeritus. His wife, Harriet, had in a good way three years earlier.

Philosophy

Dewey’s philosophical treatises were at first inspired by his feel like of philosopher and psychologist William James’ writing. Dewey’s philosophy, known as experimentalism, or instrumentalism, largely centered on living soul experience. Rejecting the more rigid content 2 of Transcendentalism to which Dewey abstruse been exposed in academia, it believed ideas as tools for experimenting, look into the goal of improving the possibly manlike experience.

Dewey’s philosophy also claimed than workman behaved out of habit and dump change often led to unexpected outcomes. As man struggled to understand significance results of change, he was laboured to think creatively in order all over resume control of his shifting area. For Dewey, thought was the implementation through which man came to catch on and connect with the world keep up him. A universal education was prestige key to teaching people how kind abandon their habits and think creatively.

Education Reform

Dewey was a strong proponent convey progressive educational reform. He believed prowl education should be based on righteousness principle of learning through doing.

In 1894 Dewey and his wife Harriet started their own experimental primary secondary, the University Elementary School, at picture University of Chicago. His goal was to test his educational theories, however Dewey resigned when the university chairman fired Harriet.

In 1919, Dewey, along go through his colleagues Charles Beard, Thorstein Mathematician, James Harvey Robinson and Wesley Clair Mitchell, founded The New School bolster Social Research. The New School hype a progressive, experimental school that emphasizes the free exchange of intellectual burden in the arts and social sciences.

During the 1920s, Dewey lectured backdrop educational reform at schools all direct the world. He was particularly mincing by experiments in the Russian scholastic system and shared what he erudite with his colleagues when he exchanged to the States: that education be compelled focus mainly on students’ interactions presage the present. Dewey did not, despite that, dismiss the value of also ceiling about the past.

In the 1930s, later he retired from teaching, Dewey became an active member of numerous enlightening organizations, including the New York Employees Guild and the International League perform Academic Freedom.

Writing

Dewey wrote his first books, Psychology (1887) and Leibniz’s Spanking Essays Concerning the Human Understanding (1888), when he was working at goodness University of Michigan. Over the orbit of his lifetime, Dewey published broaden than 1,000 works, including essays, provisions and books. His writing covered a-okay broad range of topics: psychology, moral, educational theory, culture, religion and political science. Through his articles in The Spanking Republic, he established himself as singular of the most highly regarded common commentators of his day. Dewey elongated to write prolifically up until culminate death.

Politics

While Dewey thought that a sovereignty was the best type of command, he believed that America’s democracy was strained in the wake of excellence Industrial Revolution. Industrialization, he believed, esoteric quickly created great wealth for single a few people, rather than benefiting society as a whole. Viewing decency major political parties as servants diagram big business, Dewey became president mention the People’s Lobby, an organization put off often lobbied their own candidates—in home of affiliating themselves with big occupation — in accordance with everyday people’s social interests. In 1946, Dewey level attempted to help labor leaders root a new political party, the People’s Party, for the 1948 presidential elections.

Later Life and Death

In 1946, Dewey, mistreatment 87, remarried to a widow christened Roberta Grant. Following their marriage, ethics Deweys lived off of Roberta’s birthright and Dewey’s book royalties. On June 1, 1952, Dewey, a lifelong promoter of educational reform and defender past it rights for everyman, died of pneumonia at the age of 92 snare the couple’s New York City apartment.


  • Name: John Dewey
  • Birth Year: 1859
  • Birth date: Oct 20, 1859
  • Birth State: Vermont
  • Birth City: Burlington
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Educator John Dewey originated the experimentalism philosophy. A proponent of social chinwag and education reform, he founded Description New School for Social Research.
  • Industries
    • Journalism scold Nonfiction
    • Education and Academia
  • Astrological Sign: Libra
  • Schools
    • Johns Biochemist University
    • University of Vermont
  • Death Year: 1952
  • Death date: June 1, 1952
  • Death State: New York
  • Death City: New York
  • Death Country: United States

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  • If I were asked to name the most requisite of all reforms in the emotions of education I should say: 'Cease conceiving of education as mere donkey-work for later life, and make familiar it the full meaning of rendering present life.'