Dewey also embraced the 'new psychology,' then being practiced in Europe, which focused on observing human behavior and scientific experimentation.Īfter he received his PhD from Johns Hopkins in 1884, Dewey began his career teaching philosophy at the University of Michigan. Unlike most American university philosophy programs, the one at Johns Hopkins emphasized new German scientific research methods rather than religion as the best way to arrive at the truth. In 1882, Dewey entered Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to study philosophy. philosophy journal published an essay he wrote, Dewey decided to pursue a career as a philosopher. He taught high school for a while but was not good at it. He was especially interested in new developments in the natural sciences and in European philosophers such as Herbert Spencer, who tried to apply Darwin's theory of evolution to economics.Īfter graduating in 1879, Dewey was unsure what he wanted to do in life. At this time, philosophy in most American colleges was heavily religious in nature and mainly prepared students for church ministry.Īlthough the classic curriculum at the University of Vermont stressed Latin, Greek, ancient history, and religion, Dewey read books and journals from the college library on many other subjects. He was a shy student who did not like school.ĭewey's intellectual life bloomed, however, after he entered the University of Vermont, which had a reputation for being strong in philosophy. The prevailing teaching method stressed memorization and recitation of facts. His father was involved in business ventures.ĭewey attended public schools in Burlington. His mother came from a family with a strong New England Christian tradition emphasizing service to others to improve society. John Dewey was born in 1859 in Burlington, Vermont. He devoted his life trying to reform the public schools and reconstruct American democracy to increase citizen political participation.

John Dewey was perhaps America's most famous philosopher. Communism, Capitalism, and Democracy in China | Upton Sinclair's The Jungle | John Dewey and the Reconstruction of American Democracy John Dewey and the Reconstruction of American Democracy

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