John Dewey and Leo Strauss

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how modern education has evolved through influences by many prominent philosophers and educators, including John Dewey and Leo Strauss. It explores how the pragmatic and instrumental focus of Dewey's philosophy is still retained today in the liberal education mode, while the Straussian tradition of instilling classical political philosophy in the educational curricula has remained more of a social class ideal, conservative-based and defining academic elitists. It shows how, for both Dewey and Strauss, their social and political views shaped their educational philosophies, impacting the current trends in education and educational reform.

From the Paper:

"John Dewey's pragmatic approach to education and learning emphasized a learning-by-doing method rather than a simple learning-from-instruction basis to study material and establish a vocation. The instrumental view related to pragmatism holds that problem solving utilizes man's use of truth as an instrument, where truth varies with the given problem and is not defined in a stagnant state. Thus, the learning process adapts to trends and changes, especially as scientific discoveries are made and new truths are defined or modified, and requires individual interaction with the material to achieve an optimal understanding of the theory or subject. Dewey's pragmatic educational theory was heavily influenced by his views on democracy, which were likewise evolutionary in nature."

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