From Fallacy to Integrity: Dewey's Call for a Philosophy of Experience

Introduction

In his 1929 Kappa Delta Pi Lecture Series inaugural address, John Dewey clearly identified the need for a philosophical hypothesis capable of determining "the significance of scientific results for educational practice" (Seals, 2001, 256). (1) Concerned that practitioners would be tempted to yield to "either a recurring cycle of educational fads or a pseudo-scientific commitment to educational Essentialism" (ibid.), Dewey called on philosophers to do more than identify appropriate means for education; he called for a philosophy capable of formulating educational ends beyond the dominant discourses of the day. In 1938, he returned to give the tenth annual Kappa Delta Pi address. Once again Dewey issued a call, this time to address the need for a philosophy of experience capable of articulating "what education is and what conditions have to be satisfied in order that education may be a reality and not a name or a slogan" (Dewey, 1938, 91). Deeply concerned about major divides and "false choices" (Garrison, 1996) between "traditional" and "progressive" education, in this lecture (later published as Experience and Education) Dewey proposed an "anti-dualistic concept of experience" constituted by two "universal" features: continuity and interaction (Imai, 2003).

More than six decades later, this slim volume is still a source of insight, inspiration and intrigue. Selected quotes from Experience and Education serve as "fuel" for the ongoing "conversation" in Kappa Delta Pi's recent collection, Experiencing Dewey: Insights for Today's Classroom (Breault & Breault, 2005). Educators from a wide range of content areas reflecting on their emergent philosophies and practices continue to acknowledge the influence of Experience and Education on their own intellectual development. (2) And prominent critics including Diane Ravitch and E. D. Hirsch, Jr. continue to cite Dewey's …