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-- HELP!!!!! Philosophy Mid-term Tomorrow and dont understand any of it!!!!
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Originally posted by Psy-T err, not to be dissing theresa or anything, but you really should be going with what mrjivebojingles said and expand further using the five links i provided.

mrjive is referring to William James and his philosophy... not John Dewey.

The question specifically pertains to Dewey and his philosophy, not the composite philosophy of William.

quote:

just wondering, do you happen to agree with the pragmatists or the pragmatic method?

Yes, mostly. I have something of an analytic / positivist streak as well.

But after Quine, Davidson, etc., the two strands of philosophy, pragmatist and analytic, really ended up amounting to much the same thing.

Dewey took pragmatism and Darwinized it. A good passage from the IEP article, which Psy-T linked to:

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Second, Darwin's theory of natural selection suggested in a more particular way the form which a naturalistic approach to the theory of knowledge should take. Darwin's theory had renounced supernatural explanations of the origins of species by accounting for the morphology of living organisms as a product of a natural, temporal process of the adaptation of lineages of organisms to their environments, environments which, Darwin understood, were significantly determined by the organisms that occupied them. The key to the naturalistic account of species was a consideration of the complex interrelationships between organisms and environments. In a similar way, Dewey came to believe that a productive, naturalistic approach to the theory of knowledge must begin with a consideration of the development of knowledge as an adaptive human response to environing conditions aimed at an active restructuring of these conditions. Unlike traditional approaches in the theory of knowledge, which saw thought as a subjective primitive out of which knowledge was composed, Dewey's approach understood thought genetically, as the product of the interaction between organism and environment, and knowledge as having practical instrumentality in the guidance and control of that interaction. Thus Dewey adopted the term "instrumentalism" as a descriptive appellation for his new approach. Dewey's first significant application of this new naturalistic understanding was offered in his seminal article "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology" (1896). In this article, Dewey argued that the dominant conception of the reflex arc in the psychology of his day, which was thought to begin with the passive stimulation of the organism, causing a conscious act of awareness eventuating in a response, was a carry-over of the old, and errant, mind-body dualism. Dewey argued for an alternative view: the organism interacts with the world through self-guided activity that coordinates and integrates sensory and motor responses. The implication for the theory of knowledge was clear: the world is not passively perceived and thereby known; active manipulation of the environment is involved integrally in the process of learning from the start.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Dewey took pragmatism and Darwinized it. A good passage from the IEP article, which Psy-T linked to:

hmm really good info, do you think that pragmatic darwinism was the philosophy that came out of dewey's response?

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Originally posted by rapfiend03 hmm really good info, do you think that pragmatic darwinism was the philosophy that came out of dewey's response?

the fact you're asking this question shows you don't really understand the question you're assigned to answer.

fack!!!! i need sleep...but i need to study more...

Re: HELP!!!!! Philosophy Mid-term Tomorrow and dont understand any of it!!!!

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Originally posted by rapfiend03 1. Dewey claims that traditional philosophy and traditional metaphysics came out of one way that early human beings tried to deal with what he calls an "aleatory world." What does he mean by that term and what exactly is the response. What conception of philosophy grew out of that conception?

Humans like stability, but the world is unstable. In the past humans hankered after stability in philosophical and metaphysical absolutes, transcendence, grasp of universals, and immortality. Their philosophies wanted a resting place, a place where they could say, "Here's the right social order, here are the right ethical principles, and they will always be the best ones in all times and all places."

But Dewey is a Darwinist. Humans are just another imperfect, fearful species of mammal trying to deal with whatever the world throws at them, so they toss around words like "logic" and "reason" and "morality" and so on and try to use those concepts to get other people to think the way they do so that things can get done.

The really fundamental question for Dewey is not "What is the absolute truth that we can stand on for all time?", but something like "Can we agree about what we are going to do with ourselves and each other in our short time on earth?" That is the essence of pragmatism, agreement about practicalities and a laissez-faire attitude toward whatever metaphysical and religious peculiarities an individual may have. Another way to put this is that pragmatism doesn't want metaphysics to dictate public policy, because metaphysical questions never really get settled anyway and people end up killing each other over them. Believe as you wish, and let everyone else do so as well, but above all participate in the ongoing conversation about what we can do to make this world into a better and more free one.

That's all I've got for now. Maybe I'll add some more in a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by rapfiend03 fack!!!! i need sleep...but i need to study more...

What does Dewey mean by the term "Aleatory World"?
What is the response to Dewey's claim? (the claim that traditional philosophy and methaphysics arose as a method to cope with the aformentioned aleatory world)
What philosophy evolved out of that claim/that response? (fuck knows which one the question refers to)

btw, whoever worded that question seems to be incompetent as philosophy 'teacher'.

awesome! thx for all the help. im actually falling asleep so i have to go tomy house with no internet but ill check back in the morning before i get ready for uni. th again everyone for all the help we really appreciate it. nite

So, Psy-T, what do you think of pragmatism?

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Originally posted by Theresa Whatever, if you're gonna be a tardass about shit, and then come running to other people asking for help, then you deserve to get told that you're a tardass. It's not my fault he's a tardass.

theresa

ps. dude you need some weed. weed + philosophy = WIN.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles So, Psy-T, what do you think of pragmatism?

i don't think there are any 'answers' in metaphysics that don't have an impact on us, hence i find it futile.

well, that's the short version i guess, would enjoy a debate if you're up for one, but i'm not up for writing a soliloquy atm.

He's gonna fail.

Theresa - while I'm sure your effort at aiding this young man is appreciated in spirit, you really, really shouldn't discuss things you have only the slightest understanding of (especially when it comes to giving someone advice for a course). Specifically, your use of terms like "literal truth" need to be reevaluated, as I'm entirely not certain you have any real idea what the phrase means.

And equating pragmatism with atheism? lol - seriously

Regardless, MrJive and Alon did a fine job of explaining Dewey's pragmatism and his so called "Darwinization" of the practice, and I really have nothing to add except for the fact that no answer to this question would be complete without mention of the complete lack of objective truth in the world (Dewey's thought, not mine).

Either way - it's a pretty shit question and could indeed be answered by:

"Dewey's "aleatory" worldview was one of uncertainty, his claim is that metaphysical theories and religion developed as a means of coping with this uncertainty, and countless 20th century philosophical worldviews arose as a result of Dewey's assertion."

Without having actually been in your course, there's no way any of us could answer it more thoroughly.

Re: HELP!!!!! Philosophy Mid-term Tomorrow and dont understand any of it!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by rapfiend03 What conception of philosophy grew out of that conception?

Failism. The concept that, whatever I say now, you've probably already failed

Re: HELP!!!!! Philosophy Mid-term Tomorrow and dont understand any of it!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by rapfiend03 ok its an entry level course into John Dewey....me and my friend have tried studying him but we cant make heads or tails of it. now we're at the nite before the mid-term and soooo f-ing lost! we kinda have an elementary grasp of pragmatism but even thats pretty shaky. If anyone can give insight into how to go about re-learning the answer/debate on this question it would REALLY help us. thx for any and all help! heres the question: 1. Dewey claims that traditional philosophy and traditional metaphysics came out of one way that early human beings tried to deal with what he calls an "aleatory world." What does he mean by that term and what exactly is the response. What conception of philosophy grew out of that conception? again thx! we are so screwed if we can't figure it out

bitch, i'm the only tardass here ok??. ok

Can we stop with the last minute "ask the chill out room" threads when people are procrastinating their coursework?

It is not like anyone here who would actually be able to give real tutelage would do so as those people all pride themselves on doing their own work, regardless of how shitty it is.

MrS

quote:

Originally posted by MrSquirrel Can we stop with the last minute "ask the chill out room" threads when people are procrastinating their coursework? It is not like anyone here who would actually be able to give real tutelage would do so as those people all pride themselves on doing their own work, regardless of how shitty it is. MrS

While I agree with you in spirit, there have been plenty of academically minded threads in c0r (specifically of the Philosophy variety) in which participants actually engaged in quality discussion of the issue (as with this one).

So while yes, many of us do pride ourselves on doing our own work - many of us also happen to enjoy discussing the content of our coursework beyond campus. To say we're unable of providing genuine academic advice really only indicates either your lack of familiarity with the material or that you haven't even read the thread.

ok its 30mins till the mid-term, ive studied (crammed) as much as i can. i have a general feel for the concept now which hopefully should get me a passing grade as this is only an entrance into Dewey and not a more advanced discussion. i have yet to hear from my friend so hopefully he understood the concepts as well. (i also hope he doesnt sleep thru the test)

in response to the procrastination, ye s i did procrastinate and yes it was all my fault but keep in mind theres 4 other essay questions on this test which i have a good understanding of. the only reason i brought this question to c0r was bcuz i have seen many countless threads on philosophy in c0r usu lead by Lira. i knew it was a place of academic knowledge and not just people guessing. and i agree with RJT, discussing and debating philosophy is fun and lets us see what and how other people interpret different philosophical principals ect outside of the small confines of university professors in our schools.

Thx again everyone and if nothing else comes of this I have learned deweys darwinization of pragmatism. hopefully i'll pass but if i don't then i can't blame anyone but me. lates!

quote:

Originally posted by rapfiend03 ok its 30mins till the mid-term, ive studied (crammed) as much as i can. i have a general feel for the concept now which hopefully should get me a passing grade as this is only an entrance into Dewey and not a more advanced discussion. i have yet to hear from my friend so hopefully he understood the concepts as well. (i also hope he doesnt sleep thru the test) in response to the procrastination, ye s i did procrastinate and yes it was all my fault but keep in mind theres 4 other essay questions on this test which i have a good understanding of. the only reason i brought this question to c0r was bcuz i have seen many countless threads on philosophy in c0r usu lead by Lira. i knew it was a place of academic knowledge and not just people guessing. and i agree with RJT, discussing and debating philosophy is fun and lets us see what and how other people interpret different philosophical principals ect outside of the small confines of university professors in our schools. Thx again everyone and if nothing else comes of this I have learned deweys darwinization of pragmatism. hopefully i'll pass but if i don't then i can't blame anyone but me. lates!

Call me an asshole, a prick, an elitist, or whatever you will, but I hope to all that is holy that you fail.

Mainly because you cannot seem to put together even the most miniscule of sentences without going into some orwellian newspeak.

Stuff like this makes me realize why everyone complains that it is "harder" to get into college these days: because the people trying to get in are woefully underprepared for the undertaking and academic institutions need to have some form of standards.


MrS

In order to properly answer this question, you will require the use of a physical science apparatus cabinet. I will contact Messrs. Reinke and Boland posthaste on this very matter.

quote:

Originally posted by idoru Haha, I lol'd hard at "tardass."

I lol'd at tardass aswell, along with the repeated use of it.
It resulted in a large hearty chuckle.

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