Abstract

Today, confronted with the choice between individual freedom and social control, democratic societies face an urgent need for a form of education that will orient the young toward holistic growth. As one way to meet this need, this thesis offers a new and workable interpretation of John Dewey's naturalistic philosophy of growth without fixed ends, and suggests how such a perspective on growth can inspire a vision of education for our democratic way of life. To this end I will reconstruct, through a triadic conversation between Dewey, Emerson, and Cavell, Dewey's idea of growth as a form of Emersonian moral perfectionism. ;Following the introduction, Chapter II discusses the Hegelian and Darwinian tension in Dewey's naturalistic philosophy. As a third mediating standpoint, Chapter III proposes a dialogue between Dewey and Emerson, as presented by Stanley Cavell. Chapter IV offers a rereading of Dewey's philosophy of growth in the light of Emersonian moral perfectionism. Chapter V presents Dewey's Emersonian reconstruction of ends for growth in his transactional holism and how-philosophy. Chapter VI discusses Dewey's views on the social reconstruction of criteria and reveals a potential conflict between his Emersonian and scientific horizons. Chapter VII reconstructs, from the perspective of Emerson's idea of the gleam of light, Dewey's, metaphysics of growth as a more holistic Emersonian view of growth as the process of expanding circles. Chapter VIII presents Dewey's innovative concept of criteria that serves for growth in expanding circles. Chapters IX and X deal with the educational implications of this concept by discussing the contemporary crisis of the young in the loss of their gleam of light, and by suggesting a vision of education that might inspire the gleam of light founded upon intelligent sympathy through Emersonian self-transcendence. ;In conclusion, Dewey's concept of creative intelligence in union with the gleam of light is offered as an answer to the questions involving growth without fixed ends. Dewey's naturalistic philosophy of growth, when reconstructed as Emersonian moral perfectionism, helps us envision a form of democratic education founded upon courage and intelligent sympathy and dedicated to the holistic growth of today's young