FREE ESSAY ON DEWEY

DEWEY

Part 1
#1 Whitehead claims that philosophy is the search for the solution to a problem. The
problem is that throughout generations models used to analyze nature become outdated so
to speak. This creates doubt in the systematic evaluation of nature which leads to
philosophical inquiry into the interwoven concepts of nature and those of life and mind.
#2 Dewey claims that all experience objects have a double aspect. The first is the
individual object complete in itself. It is the final unchanging concept of the object.
The second aspect is the potentiality of the object to influence future interactions and
experiences. Immediately and directly objects are just what they are however the
interactions of the object in future experiences is uncertain and therefor the difference
arises.
#4 Dewey states that taste is worthy of dispute as long as by disputing taste you are
referring to reflective inquiry. He also states that taste and preference reveals an
individual more completely than anything else.
#5 The beginning of wisdom for Dewey is the moment science was realized to be indifferent
to its external uses. Science itself does not discriminate from one situation to another.
The same method is applied for each investigation. 
#6 Whitehead states that philosophy is the voyage toward the larger generalities. By this
statement he is suggesting that science is more focused on detail than philosophy, while
philosophy focuses on the larger picture and putting the pieces together. In the early
stages of science it was not easily distinguished from philosophy because the general
ideas were being questioned.
Part 2
#1 By Dewey's claim that religious belief was not the key opposition to Darwin he is
looking at religion from the point of view that religious beliefs tend to be
conservative. That is instead of creating their own beliefs they attach their beliefs to
the current beliefs of the day. Religion therefor adds its own twist to the popular
thought of the time period in question. He does state however that religion added to the
intensity of the controversy the origins were founded in science and philosophy.
#2 Darwinism revolutionized our whole world view in Dewey's opinion because not only did
it provide a strong theory but it freed a new logic that is used in mind, morals, and
life. The social impact that Darwin's theory had jump-started new thought in logic. The
new realization that nature is not fixed and permanent but however it is in a state of
constant change broke barriers in many scientific fields.
Part 3
#1 From what I gather about the passage in question, Dewey is arguing that science builds
off of itself. He states, "without the methods Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and their
successors in astronomy, physics, and chemistry, Darwin would have been helpless in the
organic sciences." Darwin gained the methodology that he used in his discovery of his
theories from previous methodologies used in other fields in the past. The transition
into the kingdom of plants and animals was by all means a remarkable feat that opened
many doors.
Darwin's scientific investigations focused on the results of his observations. This
method could be considered pragmatic in the Peircean sense because of the reliance on the
physical consequences that the environment had on the observed subjects. However, the
platform of Darwin's work is built from observation instead of experimentation. Through
observation alone his work could only be considered a theory and therefore could not be a
belief because there were no testable consequences. From this angle, Darwin's work would
lean more toward the Jamesean style of pragmatism. The belief structure in James' version
of pragmatism would more readily accept Darwin's theory than the more straight-lined
Peircean version.