Human Nature and Conduct · Chapter
Plasticity of Impulse explained
Dewey examines the tension between rigid adult habits and the plasticity of youthful impulse, arguing that society tames children's originality through enforced conformity.
What happens
Dewey examines the tension between rigid adult habits and the plasticity of youthful impulse, arguing that society tames children's originality through enforced conformity. He critiques the oscillation between strict custom and wild impulse in both savage and civilized life, and advocates for utilizing impulse as a continuous agent of habit reorganization to prevent social stagnation and enable intelligent growth.
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 Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This passage marks the story's dramatic climax because it delivers a psychological reversal, rejecting the uti…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Habit and Custom as the Foundation of Conduct
Explores how rigid customs suppress youthful impulse and create a dichotomy between conformity and license.
- Impulse and Intelligence as Agents of Change
Argues that impulse, when intelligently directed, can reorganize habits and rejuvenate society from within.
- Education as Social Reproduction or Transformation
Critiques education that instills 'moral' habits without understanding, contrasting it with growth-oriented learning.
- Freedom as Intelligent Deliberation, Not Arbitrary Choice
Distinguishes true liberation through impulse-guided habit change from romanticized spontaneity.
Characters to notice
- Emerson
Cited for his view that consistency should be abandoned when it hinders present opportunities.
Key passages
“The delightful originality of the child is tamed. Worship of institutions and personages themselves lacking in imaginative foresight, versatile observation and liberal thought, is enforced.”
Children's natural creativity is suppressed by enforcing reverence for unimaginative authorities and institutions.
Highlights the conflict between youthful impulse and rigid adult customs.
“Impulse is a source, an indispensable source, of liberation; but only as it is employed in giving habits pertinence and freshness does it liberate power.”
Impulse alone is not freeing; it must be used to refresh and adapt habits to truly empower action.
Core thesis on the role of impulse in moral and social reconstruction.
“Rigid custom signifies not that there are no such impulses but that they are not organically taken advantage of.”
Strict customs do not eliminate impulses; they simply fail to channel them constructively.
Critique of over-organized custom and its neglect of unused impulses.
