Abstract

That war remains a fact of human experience is evident in accounts of history, the news, or extensive travel. What is not so evident is whether intelligent judgment can be rendered about the options of war or peace. Factors such as interrelated nation states, diverse cultures within and beyond national borders, the emergence of conflict, the fact of force, and consequences associated with action or inaction makes intelligent judgment difficult at best and hopeless at worst. Nevertheless, the requirement for decisive judgment between the alternatives of war or peace often forces itself upon us. ;In this dissertation I argue that the philosophy of John Dewey offers conceptual resources for formulating intelligent judgments in questions of war or peace. Dewey's philosophy is relevant to this question because it addresses problematic situations within the context of human experience. Human experience, according to Dewey, is an interaction of the human organism with its environment and is characterized as a "doing and undergoing." A problematic situation such as a threat of war requires the bringing to bear of reflective thinking which, for Dewey, is a conscious activity directed toward the resolution of a problem. Reflective thinking is focused by a method of inquiry which controls inquiry and directs it toward an end-in-view or resolution. In the context of the threat of war, Dewey would seek peace as an end-in-view; but his theory of inquiry would sharply focus the problem and explore the relevance and efficacy of all available measures for resolution. ;After setting out the problem of decisive judgment in questions of war or peace and establishing Dewey's relevance to the problem from historical and philosophical standpoints, this dissertation examines other theories of war or peace from a Deweyan perspective, brings Dewey's theory of inquiry and ethics to bear on the problem, and illustrates their bearing in a historical situation. It concludes with a consideration of possible objections and the value of a Deweyan perspective for the future