John Dewey's Instrumentalism

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Brian Prahl

American Political Thought

Ingram

2-27-03

John Dewey's Instrumentalism

John Dewey, largely regarded as America's greatest philosopher, was born in 1859. Throughout his early life, he lived on a farm with protestant, socially ambitious parents. Chores that Dewey was required to do on this farm became a natural part of his life. Dewey also detested school, which he thought was mundane and worthless. He thought that education from "direct contacts with life" was much more worthwhile. These ideas early in his life, helped shape his instrumentalist philosophy. Dewey received his B.A. from the University of Vermont, and his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. He then taught philosophy at the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. While doing so, he became known for his theory of instrumentalism. The following pages examine this theory and his "application of democratic ideals to education"(Issak).

It is impossible to discuss Dewey's instrumentalism without first defining pragmatism. According to the Merrian Webster dictionary, pragmatism is "an American movement in philosophy founded by C.S. Pierce and William Jones and is marked by the doctrines...that the function of thought is to guide