Moving Mountains: John Dewey

Humanism does not worship the power of a superhuman; it requires faith in human power. John Dewey, an American philosopher, knew the direction the world needed to go. Dewey was one of the original signers on the 1933 humanist manifesto, and was involved in several other humanist projects during the thirties and forties.

John Dewey was born in Vermont in late 1859, just prior to the Civil War. Dewey was one of four children born to Archibald Dewey, a merchant and participant in the Union Army in Virginia, and Lucina Artemisia. Dewey’s mother was a strong believer in Calvinism, and influenced him through her belief of strong moral behavior and good acts. Dewey learned about various cultures through near by settlers in Burlington, such as the Irish and French-Canadian. He developed his formal education at through the University of Virginia, where he excelled in the sciences. “Dewey became aware of the world of ideas during his senior year. Courses on psychology (the science of mind and behavior), religion, ethics (the study of moral values), and logic (the science of reasoning) interested him more than his earlier training in languages and science.” [Encyclopedia of World Biography. John Dewey] Dewey graduated and tried to go in to teaching, but soon returned to school at the University of Michigan to receive his Doctorate at the age of twenty-five. He began teaching at the University and started following a thought pattern similar to the one his mother had raised him with, which was to think in constructive ways that would lead to progressive change and problem solving.

Dewey and his wife moved to New York for teaching opportunities, which opened the door to a diverse concentration of American cultural influence during the 1920’s. Here Dewey made connections, which resulted in the development of the League for Independent Political Action, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Association of University Professors. Dewey was widely criticized for his forthright opinions in philosophical interventions, however he had traveled the world and developed his ideas based on what he saw happening around him.

In his travels he had viewed human actions, which had been taken to extremes due to their overwhelming power, such as Adolph Hitler’s. Dewey wanted to create a universal education, which promoted the people to think creatively about their world, and develop ideas together. Dewey used his own teaching in the University in order to inspire his own thoughts and express his new ideas. In 1931 Dewey had a series of writings published in the New Republic, about creating a third political party. He involved himself with groups that would listen to what he had to say, and stuck his foot in the door with groups who would publish his ideas. By directing himself toward a left winged group his views were heard. He worked at gaining participation from political figures who would help him develop a third party to build a controlled system that could benefit all people. For Dewey, the change he wanted to see could not be accomplished by the either of the two parties, and he felt a deep need to get support in this third party idea. After retiring from teaching in the 1930’s Dewey joined the American Humanist Association who created the first Manifesto. The group wanted to create a standard set of ethics, which the world could agree upon and still hold religious beliefs. Dewey passed away in June 1952, before the second manifesto was produced.

Finnegan, Cara A. Elastic, Agnostic Publics: John Dewey’s Call for A Third Party. EbscoHost Access 8 Dec 2009 http://search.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9318869&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live

Encyclopedia of World Biography John Dewey . Access 9 Dec 2009

http://www.notablebiographies.com/De-Du/Dewey-John.html