Review
• Practical “pragmatic” shift in thought
– Focus on action and “ideas” as habits/guides to action
• Schemes of ideas/values evolve via adaptation
• Stable, social, responsive systems survive
– Formulated in Peirce’s 4 methods
• Comfort v irritation—seek best method for “fixing” belief
• Some trade stability for social agreement and reverse
Stability v Sociability
• Tenacity and Authority have reciprocal strength
and weakness
• A priori (inner light, pure rationalism) = Socratic
Method
• Can’t achieve social agreement
• Only science builds in responsiveness and self
correction
• Like a priori method, needs no authority (a plus)
• Gradual, coordinated, independently verifiable change
• Free and morally sound—integrity and real concern for truth
James’ Contrast
• James’ subjective version of Pragmatism
– More comfortable with religion
• Psychological “pay-off” and make action possible
• Moral judgments and free will
• Truth is what works
– And working can be very individual
• Split with Peirce—Dewey as compromise
Questions
Review Test Arrangements
Review next week after finish Dewey.
Exam due before May 4
John Dewey
• Popular and influential – Politics and Education
– Educational reforms and backlash
• Emphasis on problem solving
– Now coming to you from HKU! Problem based learning.
• Challenged by Russell—stops taking about truth
– Russell insists not a good analysis (correspondence)
• Unfair--also a coherence theory of truth (Socrates)
– Correspondence never adequately explained
• Pragmatism a version of that (or a mild blend)
– Coherent system of beliefs that work—brings in reality
– Starts to use “Warranted Assertability” to avoid
criticism
Warrated Assertability v Truth
• Process/method v metaphysical relation
– What do the social norms of assertion require, allow
and forbid saying?
– Justification or warrant rest on social norms
• The social norms of reasoning survive or die
– Sharing information and justifications
– Social intelligence  population intelligence
• Rejects the “picture theory” of thought
• Opposed to classic individualist conception of ideas
• Interest (and reception) in China
Pragmatic Mix
• Darwinism, Kant and utilitarianism
– Mind structures reality
– Darwinian context: solves problems for the
organism
•
Leads to richer experienced life (utility ≠ pleasure)
– Rationality is a product of evolution
•
Kant and Hegel (focus on social evolution)
• Ways of solving problems that
– Are compact enough to "fit in genes"
– Successful general strategies given how the world is
Inquiry
• Constructs a Kantian world that works
– Change when it doesn't
– Survival determining, but lots of room for selection
• Hence also utilitarian
– Cost-benefit analysis
– In the extreme has survival consequences
Steps in Inquiry
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Habit
Frustration
Doubt
Gathering information
Hypotheses
Testing
Return to action
Dewey’s Method of Inquiry
• Natural scientific method
– Solve an actual frustration
– Mind and habit.
• Share successful strategies
– Forms of social coordination
– Science as efficient way to store/retrieve knowledge
• Avoid “metaphysical” doubt
Only "Practical" Doubt
• Mind only "works" when habit is unsuccessful
– Intellectually conservative
– Accept scientific picture until disproof
• Anti-Descartes
– No abstract doubt
– Evil demon makes knowledge impossible
• May be mathematical, intellectual puzzles
– But not "systematic" doubt
Neurath's Boat
• Listing because of a leak
– Repair at sea (we have to stay afloat while we fix
our system)
– Rely on the good side while we repair the broken
plank
• Might eventually repair the whole boat
– No single plank is irreplaceable
– No "fundamental belief"
• Rely on other beliefs while correcting
troublesome one
– Might later correct those we relied on earlier
Focus on Social Intelligence
• Shared information gathering, storing, accessing
– Less tolerant than James of individual "success"
• Science, logic and scientific method
– Efficient storage, retrieval, testing
• Cf. Apprenticeships, secret transmission, know-how
• Social intelligence about ethics, crime, economics,
SARS and so forth
– Critical, autonomous, conformity for common good
– No authority but doubt only when leads to problems
• Including theoretical problems
Social Emphasis
• Interest in Marxism, China
– Shared social focus
– American "socialist"
• Critical of Marxism but shared view of human
social nature
• Main divergence: radical v ameliorative
– Violent v liberal—like Neurath's boat
"Classical Liberalism"
• Conservative individualism
• Shallow psychology of human nature
– Atomistic, egoistic, base hedonistic, amoral
individuals (psychological egoist)
– Needing law to motivate moral behavior
• Self-fulfilling prophecy
– American character v. Chinese character:
• Our nature is shaped by culture and institutions
Classical Focus Wrong
• Not question of individual v society
– Question is how to blend nature & culture
• New liberalism
– Way to justify liberty is that its institutions create
free people
• Self-critical, responsible, autonomous
– Not something demanded by metaphysically free
individuals
Democracy
• Face to face discussion creates communal
humans
– Shared views
• Mutual respect
• Equality
• Concern for community
• Advocate democracy
– To create self-governing, self-perfecting beings
• Not because majority is right or wise
Real Problems for Liberalism
• Non-political/cultural factors inhibit moral
growth
– Even when politically free
– Manipulative "free" institutions
• Economic determinism
– Songs and arts
– Confucius on 禮liritual and music
Manipulation
• Television and advertising create artificial
needs
– Cars, fashions, perfumes, colognes, style
– Related to songs and natural impulse
– Cf. Laozi
• Education for jobs
– Free form of slavery
– Sensationalist slaves
• Educational system--teaches docility
Solution
• Political involvement
– People take real power over themselves
– Set up institutions with that goal
• Social intelligence
– Value knowledge is like scientific
– Social and coherent
– Criticize some only—no systematic value doubt
Philosophy for All
• Reason in morals and in science
– Social shared intelligence
• We cannot choose not to philosophize
– We choose do it well. . .
– Or badly
Thank You
• Please stay for a few minutes to complete the
course evaluation
• Good luck!