Human Nature and Conduct · Chapter
Part III: The Place of Intelligence in Conduct explained
This chapter examines the role of intelligence in moral conduct, arguing that intelligence is not a separate faculty but an active, deliberative function that reorganizes habits and impulses in light of consequences.
What happens
This chapter examines the role of intelligence in moral conduct, arguing that intelligence is not a separate faculty but an active, deliberative function that reorganizes habits and impulses in light of consequences. Dewey critiques traditional moral theories that separate reason from desire, and emphasizes that moral deliberation is a process of imaginative rehearsal and prospective judgment.
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
- Freedom as Intelligent Deliberation, Not Arbitrary Choice
Dewey argues that genuine freedom is achieved through intelligent deliberation that reorganizes habits and impulses, not through arbitrary choice or mere impulse.
- Moral Judgment as Prospective and Consequential
Dewey emphasizes that moral judgment is forward-looking, focusing on the consequences of actions and the imaginative rehearsal of possible outcomes.
Characters to notice
- Aristotle
Dewey references Aristotle's conception of deliberation as concerned with ends-in-view, contrasting it with traditional views that separate reason from desire.
- Kant
Dewey critiques Kant's dualism between reason and inclination, arguing that intelligence must integrate desire and thought in moral action.
- Plato
Dewey discusses Plato's idea of reason as a separate faculty, which he rejects in favor of a more integrated view of intelligence.
- Hobbes
Dewey mentions Hobbes's view of deliberation as a mere weighing of desires, which he contrasts with his own conception of intelligent deliberation.
Key passages
“Deliberation is a dramatic rehearsal (in imagination) of various competing possible lines of action.”
Dewey describes deliberation as an imaginative process where we mentally simulate different courses of action to anticipate their outcomes.
This passage introduces Dewey's key concept of deliberation as imaginative rehearsal, central to his pragmatic theory of moral reasoning.
“The only way to change a habit is to form a new one that is stronger than the old one.”
Dewey asserts that habits are not changed by mere willpower but by actively cultivating new habits that override the old ones.
This reflects Dewey's view of habit as a dynamic, socially conditioned force that requires intelligent intervention to transform.
