John Dewey's Philosophy of Spirit - (American Philosophy) by John R Shook & James A Good

Book Synopsis

The question of how far Dewey's thought is indebted to Hegel has long been a conundrum for philosophers. This book shows that, far from repudiating Hegel, Dewey's entire pragmatic philosophy is premised on a "philosophy of spirit" inspired by Hegel's project. Two essays by Shook and Good defending this radical viewpoint are joined by the definitive text of Dewey's 1897 Lecture at the University of Chicago
on Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit. Previously cited by scholars only from the archival manuscript, this edited Lecture is now available to fully expose the basic concern shared by Hegel and Dewey for the full and free development of the individual in the social context. Dewey's and Hegel's philosophies are at the center of modern philosophy's hopes for advancing human freedom.

Review Quotes

1. Shook and Good are the pioneers of a new and suggestive interpretation of Hegel's deep and enduring influence on Dewey. They show how Dewey's preference for a humanistic/historicist reading of Hegel over the usual metaphysical/theological reading ensconced by the British neo-Hegelians is actually quite compatible with contemporary Hegel scholarship. Combining Dewey's remarkable 1897 Lecture on Hegel with two impressive essays helping to interpret the text opens up new territory for scholars.

2. This volume offers for the first time a scholarly version of Dewey's insightful 1897 lecture on Hegel along with their two essays by Shook and Good that go a long way in furthering our understanding of Hegel's influence on Dewey, especially his thinking on religion, art, and the function of philosophy.

3. Shook and Good show us that the better er understand that Hegel was a better empiricist than the British Empiricist and that the Absolute Spirit is not supernal (for example, God or logical categories) as depicted by the British neo-Hegelians (many of whom, like T. H. Green are really neo-Kantians as Dewey well knew) along with many other myths, we may unblock the path of inquiry to a better understanding of how Hegel "left a permanent deposit" and deep impression on Dewey's philosophy.

-----Jim Garrison, Virginia Tech

With their significant new interpretation of the role of Hegel in the
formation of Dewey's thought, Shook and Good have transformed the
landscape of Dewey scholarship.

-----Larry Hickman, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Dewey's reception of Hegel is the decisive historical event inaugurating the American Pragmatist assimilation of German Idealism, which has become one of the most exciting themes in contemporary American philosophy. With the publication and critical annotation of this archival but important source in which Dewey systematically explores one of Hegel's greatest works, American scholars will now have a remarkable new resource in carrying out this momentous adventure in philosophical synthesis.-----John H. Zammito, Rice University

Represents an important and original contribution to scholarly research in American philosophy and in Dewey studies. It also provides further evidence of the important role that Hegelian Idealism plays in American heritages of philosophy, and contributes to our understanding of the distinctive use made of Hegel in Dewey's thought...An outstanding and useful work.-----Theodore George, Texas A&M University

About the Author

John R. Shook (Edited By)
John Shook is Research Associate in philosophy at the University at Buffalo and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York.

James A. Good (Edited By)
James A. Good is Professor of History and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences at Lone Star College, North Harris in Houston, Texas.