Abstract

This work attempts to capture the spirit of John Dewey's practical idealism, the heart of which is his ideal of democracy. Dewey's statements about democracy are interpreted in the light of his account of the meaning of ideals and the role of imagination in framing them. The essential point of this thesis is the intrinsic connection between worthwhile ideals and the ideal of democracy. ;Chapter One examines the interdependence of facts and ideas. It describes the work of imagination in stretching the horizon of meanings within experience. ;Chapter Two links the space opened up by imaginative possibilities with the open-ended quality of nature. It shows how imaginative thought continues the search for unity within experience and aids in reconstructing actual conditions. ;Chapter Three examines the social context or criterion for appraising ends-in-view; in addition, it emphasizes the unique quality of individual situations, ends, and goods. ;Chapter Four explores the characteristics of ideals--their inclusiveness and their sense of the whole, as well as their intimate connection with individual acts. The ideal is seen as the aura of envisioned possible continuity with other human beings and with nature. ;Chapter Five describes the ideal of democracy and its connection with the traits of inclusive ideals. The democratic attitude is depicted as the only way of life consistent with growth, and the relation is drawn between democracy in fact and democracy as ideal. ;Chapter Six specifies the individual and unique side of human existence, yet stresses how this individuality is tied to associations with others. It analyzes equality and liberty, two key components of the democratic ideal of developing distinctive individuality. ;Chapter Seven examines fulfillment of the relational side of human existence and the importance of for developing factual democracy and for nourishing individual and social imagination. ;The Conclusion suggests some consequences for philosophy in America, if the spirit and methods of the democratic ideal are taken to heart