Pragmatism and moral progress: John Dewey's theory of social inquiry

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dc.citation.epage824en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber8en_US
dc.citation.spage809en_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber39en_US
dc.contributor.authorSorrell, K.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-08T09:35:16Z
dc.date.available2016-02-08T09:35:16Z
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.departmentProgram in Cultures, Civilization and Ideasen_US
dc.description.abstractJohn Dewey developed a pragmatic theory of inquiry to provide intelligent methods for social progress. He believed that the logic and attitude of successful scientific inquiries, properly conceived, could be fruitfully applied to morals and politics. Unfortunately, his project has been poorly understood and his logic of inquiry neglected as a resource. Contemporary pragmatists, like Richard Rorty, for example, dismiss his emphasis on method and avoid judgments of moral progress that are in any way independent of the biases of particular cultures. In this article, I argue that Dewey's theory of inquiry indeed provides intelligent methods and intellectual criteria for engaging moral and political matters. Inquiry, as Dewey conceives it, issues in judgments that are increasingly objective, reliable and refined in application. These judgments are rooted in particular times and places, in actual 'situations', but are not entirely hostage to specific cultures. I then apply Dewey's theory to two standard moral problems to demonstrate how it works. The conclusion is that Dewey's theory of inquiry gets it just right: it provides solid ground for criticism and moral progress while remaining acutely sensitive to cultural differences and changing circumstances. © The Author(s) 2013.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/0191453713494967en_US
dc.identifier.eissn1461-734X
dc.identifier.issn0191-4537
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11693/20788en_US
dc.language.isoEnglishen_US
dc.publisherSageen_US
dc.relation.isversionofhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0191453713494967en_US
dc.source.titlePhilosophy and Social Criticismen_US
dc.subjectCriticismen_US
dc.subjectFemale genital cutting (FGC)en_US
dc.subjectInquiryen_US
dc.subjectLogicen_US
dc.subjectMoral progressen_US
dc.subjectObjectivityen_US
dc.subjectPragmatismen_US
dc.titlePragmatism and moral progress: John Dewey's theory of social inquiryen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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