John Dewey's theory of inquiry: an interpretation of a classical American approach to logic

摘要

During the 20th century, John Dewey introduced a new idea with respect to thenature of logical theory: He presented a portrait of logic as a theory about howorganisms interact and maintain an integrated balance between themselves and theirenvironment. He wrote many texts on what he called his theory of inquiry, includingEssays in Experimental Logic (1916), Studies in Logical Theory (1903), and How WeThink (1910). However, the book where he most closely detailed his theory of inquiry isin his Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1938). These texts by Dewey have served as thesource for much recent discussion and commentary in Dewey scholarship. Most of theseinterpretations on Dewey??s theory of inquiry, I maintain, misunderstand Dewey in somefundamental way. I argue that these commentators have gone wrong in interpretingDewey and his works by failing to understand some aspect of his theory of inquiry. Iillustrate the flaws in their interpretations and subsequently integrate the conclusions Ireach into a single, cohesive perspective on Dewey??s account of inquiry. The finalchapter presents a new interpretation of Dewey that emphasizes the role of phenomenal,contextual, and social factors in the foundations of his logical works.