Democracy and Education · Chapter
The Nature of an Aim explained
Dewey argues that the aim of education is not an external end but an intrinsic part of the educative process, enabling continued growth.
What happens
Dewey argues that the aim of education is not an external end but an intrinsic part of the educative process, enabling continued growth. He contrasts mere results with true ends, using bees as an example of activity with intrinsic continuity. An aim involves foresight, direction, and intelligent action, requiring observation, sequencing, and choice. Acting with an aim is synonymous with acting intelligently, where mind is the capacity to connect present conditions to future consequences.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the dramatic climax because it identifies the psychological peak of the conflict: the momen…
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Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Education as Life and Growth
The chapter asserts that the aim of education is to enable continued capacity for growth, not an external end.
- Critique of Traditional Curriculum
Dewey criticizes externally dictated aims and rote activities, arguing they lack intrinsic continuity and true purpose.
- Experience and Learning by Doing
The chapter emphasizes that aims arise within activity, requiring foresight and intelligent action, as illustrated by the bee example.
Key passages
“The account of education given in our earlier chapters virtually anticipated the results reached in a discussion of the purport of education in a democratic community. For it assumed that the aim of education is to enable individuals to continue their education—or that the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for growth.”
Dewey states that the purpose of education is to foster ongoing growth and learning, not to achieve a fixed external goal.
This introduces the core idea that education's aim is intrinsic to the process.
“To have an aim is to act with meaning, not like an automatic machine; it is to mean to do something and to perceive the meaning of things in the light of that intent.”
Having an aim means acting purposefully and understanding actions in relation to that purpose, unlike mechanical behavior.
Dewey distinguishes intelligent, aim-directed activity from mere automatic response.
“Mind is capacity to refer present conditions to future results, and future consequences to present conditions. And these traits are just what is meant by having an aim or a purpose.”
Mind is the ability to connect current situations with future outcomes, which is the essence of having a purpose.
This defines mind in terms of purposeful, forward-looking activity.
