Review by Choice Review
This two-volume collection of Dewey's writings is drawn from the 37-volume Collected Works of John Dewey (1967-91). Volume 1 covers the general themes of pragmatism, education, and democracy; volume 2 covers ethics, logic, and psychology. The editors are two of the best Dewey scholars: Larry Hickman, John Dewey's Pragmatic Technology (CH, Jun'90), and Thomas Alexander, John Dewey's Theory of Art, Experience and Nature, (CH, Dec'87). The only other broad-based collection in print is John McDermott's two-volume work The Philosophy of John Dewey (CH, May'74). These well-produced volumes show the enormous breadth of Dewey's writing over 50 years. Some quibbles: although clear references are given to the location of the selections in the Collected Works and to the original source of publication, chapter numbers would have been helpful. This reviewer would have liked more on Dewey's attack on the human search for certainty and its consequences, instead of commentaries on other philosophers. Nevertheless, this set should be a very high priority for public libraries lacking the complete works and is essential for small college libraries; researchers in libraries with the complete set will still find these two volumes most useful. All levels. R. H. Evans University of Minnesota--Duluth
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Dewey (1859-1952) is probably best known to the public in general for his philosophy of education. This collection of his writings, covering the entire course of his intellectual development over time, will therefore provide a necessary corrective to this limited view by showing the depth and breadth of his philosophic interests. In the course of his long life, Dewey wrote and published on myriad topics: certainly, and perhaps most importantly to him, on public education, but alsoand extensivelyon technical philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology, logic, aesthetics, religion, science, ethics, and social philosophy. And though neglected by academic philosophers for a time, Dewey's pragmatic orientation has recently proved influential in the thought of Quine, Putnam, and Rorty, among others. This two-volume collection of essays and book chapters, culled from an earlier 37-volume critical edition of his works, provides for the first time a publication of his writings that is both manageable and comprehensive. For academic and larger public libraries.Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Mgt. Lib., Washingon, DC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
