Editing John Dewey (section)

=== Logic and method ===
Dewey sees paradox in contemporary logical theory. Proximate subject matter garners general agreement and advancement, while the ultimate subject matter of logic generates unremitting controversy. In other words, he challenges confident logicians to answer the question of the truth of logical operators. Do they function merely as abstractions (e.g., pure mathematics) or do they connect in some essential way with their objects, and therefore alter or bring them to light?<ref name="logical">{{cite book |last=Dewey |first=John |title=Logic: The Theory of Inquiry |date=1938 |chapter=The Problem of Logical Subject Matter |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/JohnDeweyLogicTheTheoryOfInquiry/%5BJohn_Dewey%5D_Logic_-_The_Theory_of_Inquiry_djvu.txt}}</ref>

[[Logical positivism]] also figured in Dewey's thought. About the movement he wrote that it "eschews the use of 'propositions' and 'terms', substituting 'sentences' and 'words'." ("General Theory of Propositions", in ''Logic: The Theory of Inquiry'') He welcomes this changing of referents "in as far as it fixes attention upon the symbolic structure and content of propositions." However, he registers a small complaint against the use of "sentence" and "words" in that without careful interpretation the act or process of transposition "narrows unduly the scope of symbols and language, since it is not customary to treat gestures and diagrams (maps, blueprints, etc.) as words or sentences." In other words, sentences and words, considered in isolation, do not disclose intent, which may be inferred or "adjudged only by means of context."<ref name="logical" />

Yet Dewey was not entirely opposed to modern logical trends; indeed, the deficiencies in traditional logic he expressed hope for the trends to solve occupies the whole first part of same book.  Concerning traditional logic, he states there:

{{blockquote|Aristotelian logic, which still passes current nominally, is a logic based upon the idea that qualitative objects are existential in the fullest sense. To retain logical principles based on this conception along with the acceptance of theories of existence and knowledge based on an opposite conception is not, to say the least, conductive to clearness—a consideration that has a good deal to do with existing dualism between traditional and the newer relational logics.}}

==== Critical thinking ====
[[File:Ideas and reflective thought.jpg|thumb|Based on the text of John Dewey in "How We Think", this diagram depicts different types of thinking<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Nychka |first=John A. |title=What is and idea, and how do we think? |date=2019 |url=https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/155811b5-4e99-4b14-aada-1e0d955ce0e3 |access-date=2025-03-30 |publisher=University of Alberta Libraries |doi=10.7939/R3-GAEA-KZ46}}</ref>.]]
Dewey was pivotal in advancing the philosophy of education by emphasizing the role of experience and active problem-solving in cultivating critical thinking. In "How We Think",<ref name=":2">Dewey, J. ''How we think'' (1910). D.C. Heath and Company.</ref> Dewey describes reflective thinking as an "active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends." (Processes of Thought diagram). Thinking is not merely the passive absorption of facts but an active, dynamic process that involves questioning, analyzing, and transforming experiences into meaningful conclusions. Dewey's approach transformed traditional education by advocating for an interactive classroom environment. His contributions laid the groundwork for modern pedagogical methods that not only focus on the acquisition of factual knowledge but also foster the development of independent thought, creativity, and a deeper understanding of how to apply learning in everyday life.
[[File:Reflective thought.jpg|thumb|Based on the text of John Dewey in "How We Think", this diagram details the elements and strategies for critical reflective thinking<ref name=":1" />]]
Many authors thus regard Dewey as a key figure in affirming the importance of critical thinking in education. Dewey used the term "critical thinking" in the first edition of his book ''How We Think'', but the term did not originate with Dewey.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lau |first=Joe Y.F. |date=2024-02-26 |title=Revisiting the origin of critical thinking |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00131857.2024.2320199 |journal=Educational Philosophy and Theory |volume=56 |issue=7 |language=en |pages=724–733 |doi=10.1080/00131857.2024.2320199 |issn=0013-1857}}</ref>

In "How We Think", <ref name=":2" /> Dewey also delved further into the design of learning experiences to encourage reflective thinking. Moreover, Dewey described his vision for the design of poorly executed thinking and well executed thinking processes –the difference being the exclusion or inclusion of reflective thought, respectively.<ref name=":2" />  He also detailed the design of sub-processes within reflective thought, which consist of skepticism and investigation to either find facts and evidence to support or nullify suggested beliefs.
[[File:Reflective thinking.jpg|thumb|Based on the text of John Dewey in "How We Think", this diagram summarizes the design of, or suggested, thinking processes of which poorly executed and well executed thinking.<ref name=":1" />  ]]

==== Aesthetics ====
{{Main|Art as Experience}}
''Art as Experience'' (1934) is Dewey's major writing on aesthetics.<ref>Jonathan Levin, "The Esthetics of Pragmatism." ''American Literary History'' 6.4 (1994): 658–683 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/489959 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309024921/https://www.jstor.org/stable/489959 |date=March 9, 2021 }}.</ref>

It is, in accordance with his place in the Pragmatist tradition that emphasizes community, a study of the individual art object as embedded in (and inextricable from) the experiences of a local culture. In the original illustrated edition, Dewey drew on the modern art and world cultures collection assembled by [[Albert C. Barnes]] at the [[Barnes Foundation]], whose own ideas on the application of art to one's way of life was influenced by Dewey's writing. Dewey made art through writing poetry, but he considered himself deeply unmusical: one of his students described Dewey as "allergic to music."<ref>* Thibeault, M.D. (2018). [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022429419896792#articleShareContainer Dewey's Musical Allergy and the Philosophy of Music Education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609042708/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022429419896792#articleShareContainer |date=June 9, 2020 }}. Journal of Research in Music Education, 68(1), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429419896792</ref> Barnes was particularly influenced by ''Democracy and Education'' (1916) and then attended Dewey's seminar on political philosophy at Columbia University in the fall semester of 1918.<ref>David A. Granger, "The science of art: aesthetic formalism in John Dewey and Albert Barnes, Part 1." ''Journal of Aesthetic Education'' 52.1 (2018): 55–83 [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:Dgt9UaeudGUJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=1,27&scillfp=10194638935152769212&oi=lle online]{{Dead link|date=October 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}.</ref>