Synthesis philosophica, Vol. 25 No. 1, 2010.
Original scientific paper
Ethical Ideal of Democracy. On John Dewey’s Philosophy of Democratic Education
Pavo Barišić
orcid.org/0000-0002-2731-1488
; Institute of Philosophy, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The article elaborates on the essential characteristics and model of democratic education in Dewey’s works. It starts with the question: what is the meaning of Dewey’s concept of education regarding the contemporary deliberative democracy? Can his ethical ideal of humanity be applied as a philosophical basis for the evaluation and justification of democratic practices? Did Dewey undermine and destroy the foundations of liberalism, as suggested by Richard Rorty? Or does his reconstruction of philosophy actually bring liberalism back to life and opens new paths to democracy? The latest wave of reception of Dewey’s philosophy expresses with increasing intensity that something, which at the same time exceeds the framework of modernity and points to the future, emerges from his legacy of thought through fruitful collisions with the ideas and tendencies of the modern age. In the current renaissance of pragmatism, it is especially significant to note that Dewey’s highly sophisticated critique of the modern “individualism”, together with his advocacy of strengthening the moral and participative democracy links in local communities, finds its way in communitarian argumentation discourses. The concluding thesis states that Dewey does not destroy the foundations of liberalism and democracy by emphasizing the substantial connection “communicatio–community–common”, but rather enriches, strengthens, and brings them to a higher level.
Keywords
ideal of democracy; political education; ethics; democratic education; reconstruction of philosophy; John Dewey
Hrčak ID:
58378
URI
Publication date:
2.8.2010.
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