Character guide

Plato

supporting

In Dewey's account, Plato stands for the Greek conviction that right social and moral achievement rests on rational knowledge, so his Republic becomes at once a treatise on morals, social organization, and the science of nature. He subordinates literary studies to mathematics, physics, logic, and metaphysics, treating naturalistic inquiry as a necessary stage rather than an end in itself. His tension with Dewey is precise: knowledge of nature serves humanistic and ideal ends, and that subordination shapes the whole debate over what education is for.

Rousseau

supporting

Rousseau treats the three factors of education — native powers, social contact, and direct interaction with the environment — as separate and independent rather than cooperative, and he subordinates social education to a supposedly spontaneous unfolding of the organs. Dewey grants that Rousseau was right to make the structure and activities of the organs the conditions of all teaching, but profoundly wrong to make them the ends. The tension matters because it forces the reader to ask whether growth has a norm outside itself, or whether the child's babblings could ever furnish language.

Aristotle

minor

Greek philosopher referenced for his views on nature and education.

Froebel

minor

Educational reformer known for kindergarten and play-based learning.

John Locke

minor

Also known as Locke, John

Empiricist philosopher whose ideas on mind and experience are examined.

Francis Bacon

minor

Also known as Bacon

Philosopher credited with advancing scientific method and empiricism.

Herbart

minor

Educational theorist focused on interest and moral development.

Hegel

minor

German philosopher whose dialectical method influences educational theory.

Socrates

minor

Also known as A Socrates

Classical Greek philosopher known for dialectic method of questioning.

Emerson

minor

American transcendentalist writer on individualism and self-reliance.

Kant

minor

German philosopher whose ideas on duty and reason are discussed.

Pestalozzi

minor

Also known as A Pestalozzi

Educational reformer emphasizing learning through activity and senses.

Newton

minor

Scientist whose laws exemplify modern scientific method and discovery.

Descartes

minor

Also known as a Descartes

Rationalist philosopher known for mind-body dualism and methodic doubt.

Herbert Spencer

minor

Social Darwinist whose educational views are critiqued in the text.

Columbus

minor

Explorer referenced in context of historical discovery and progress.