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John Dewey is among history’s most celebrated thinkers on democracy and education, yet he has often been underappreciated and misunderstood as a philosopher. This book paints a fresh portrait of Dewey as not only a reformer of schooling but also a profound theorist of human development, whose vision of the centrality of education to democracy, philosophy, and flourishing can still inspire us today.
What can we learn from this great thinker as we face challenges such as widespread drudgery and disaffection, estrangement among individuals and groups, and a crisis of democracy? This book supplies the answers, offering a bold new account of Dewey as an educational theorist who is essential for our troubled times.
Revealing the true scope of Dewey’s educational vision, this book provides a new perspective on a neglected aspect of the philosophical tradition. Growing People presents an alternative canon—running from Plato to Rousseau to Du Bois—that recasts philosophy in terms of education and, in so doing, opens new pathways for social critique and the liberation of human potential.
A definitive study.
— Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Columbia University
Reading Dewey alongside Plato, Rousseau, and Du Bois, Alexander has written an original and timely account of Dewey’s philosophy of education, placing his character-centered analysis of human flourishing at the core of his aesthetics and political theory. As democratic citizens, we still need to be grappling with Dewey’s thought, and Alexander brilliantly helps us see why.
— Robert Gooding-Williams, author of Democracy and Beauty: The Political Aesthetics of W.E.B. Du Bois
A remarkable achievement in resurrecting one of the great thinkers in American history. Dewey is not forgotten—worse, he is not taken seriously, thought to be old-fashioned, even naively benign. Alexander brings us a revitalized Dewey whose vision is as deep as it is broad. Her profound and bold analysis of Dewey’s oeuvre couldn’t be more contemporary or more relevant.
— Stuart Firestein, author of Ignorance: How It Drives Science
Alexander’s philosophically rich and nuanced interpretation shows that Dewey’s philosophy of education is a central component of his pragmatism. Alexander makes a compelling case for the idea that Dewey’s concern to “set free and develop” human capacities shapes his views on democracy, aesthetics, and even the tasks of philosophy.
— Michele M. Moody-Adams, author of Making Space for Justice: Social Movements, Collective Imagination and Political Hope
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Philosophy and Education
2. Democracy and Education
3. Art and Education
4. Flourishing and Education
Notes
Bibliography
Index