Human Nature and Conduct · Question
How does Human Nature and Conduct develop the theme of Impulse and Intelligence as Agents of Change?
Answer
Human Nature and Conduct by John Dewey develops Impulse and Intelligence as Agents of Change across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Dewey presents impulse as the source of novelty and renewal, while intelligence (reflective thought) is necessary to direct impulses toward constructive reorganization of habits and customs.
Dewey contrasts blind habit with intelligent thought, and criticizes the separation that leaves habit routine and thought ineffective.
Dewey distinguishes between routine habit and intelligent habit (art), arguing that reflective intelligence emerges from social customs and can reorganize them, serving as an experimental and creative force.
The chapter introduces impulse as the beginning of individuality in mind, arising from conflict of habits and leading to deliberate efforts to transform customs and environment.
Evidence in the book
- Custom and Habit
Dewey contrasts blind habit with intelligent thought, and criticizes the separation that leaves habit routine and thought ineffective.
- Custom and Morality
Dewey distinguishes between routine habit and intelligent habit (art), arguing that reflective intelligence emerges from social customs and can reorganize them, serving as an experimental and creative force.
- Habit and Social Psychology
The chapter introduces impulse as the beginning of individuality in mind, arising from conflict of habits and leading to deliberate efforts to transform customs and environment.
- Part II: The Place of Impulse in Conduct
Impulse is presented as a crucial force that breaks the inertia of habit and opens the door for intelligent reconstruction of conduct.
- I: Impulses and Change of Habit
Impulses are described as 'pivots' for reorganizing habits and as agencies of deviation, essential for understanding social transition and reform.
- Plasticity of Impulse
Argues that impulse, when intelligently directed, can reorganize habits and rejuvenate society from within.
- III: Changing Human Nature
Dewey discusses how native tendencies like pugnacity and fear interact, and how motives are not pre-existing but are judgments made in light of consequences, guiding intelligent action.
- Impulse and Conflict of Habits
The chapter explores how impulse can serve as an intermediary for reorganizing habits, especially through education of the young and through conflicts among incompatible habits, and emphasizes the need for intelligent direction to modulate conflict into constructive synthesis.
