How would the following quote from an earlier Dewey text dovetail with these
ruminations? "Ruminations" can also mean 'the process of chewing cud.'
"An ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory simply because it is
only in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance"
(Dewey, 1916/1985, p. 151).
Dewey, J. (1985). Democracy and education. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), P. R.
Baysinger & B. Levine (Assoc. Textual Eds.), John Dewey: The middle works,
1899-1924. Vol. 9: Democracy and education, 1916. Carbondale, IL: Southern
Illinois University Press. (Original work published 1916)
On 3/12/07, Michael Glassman <MGlassman@ehe.ohio-state.edu> wrote:
>
> Hmmmm... great quote. Sounds like something Dewey would say in response
> to Russell, or considering that it was in Experience and Nature perhaps
> the new realists. I think Dewey was really pushing the idea at this
> time that we can't really know that which is outside of our experience,
> and that experience precedes cognition (maybe that cognition is a
> sub-category of experience). One of the things I thought about reading
> this quote was that Dewey seems to have anticipated (by what, fifty
> years) that whole brouhaha brought about by the learning paradox. The
> people pushing the learning paradox make the claim that we can't think
> about things in the world without first having some understanding of
> them - claiming that there must be some innate understanding of the
> world. I think it has been discussed on this list before and don't
> really look to open a can of worms. But Dewey seems to be saying that
> of course it is right that we can't think about things in the world
> without first knowing about them - but knowing is part of experience
> that precedes the actual thinking about the objects - so we get our
> initial understanding of things from experiencing them pre-cognitively
> and that is the reason we are able to reflect on them.
>
> Michael
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu]
> On Behalf Of Mike Cole
> Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 4:10 PM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: [xmca] Being and Knowing
>
> Matt Brown gave an interesting talk at LCHC today in the course of which
> the
> idea of "pre-cognitive" experience
> came up. We discussed for a while what this might mean. Matt sent the
> following interesting set of thoughts from
> Dewey in response. They seemed relevant to xmca. My apologies if they
> are a
> nuiscance.
> mike
>
> I leave you with the following quote from _Experience and Nature_:
>
> [Empirical method] indicates that *being* and *having* things in ways
> other than knowing them, in ways never identical with knowing them,
> exist, and are preconditions of reflection and knowledge. *Being*
> angry, stupid, wise, inquiring; *having* sugar, the light of day,
> money, houses and lands, friends, laws, masters, subjects, pain and
> joy, occur in dimensions incommensurable to knowing these things
> which we are and have and use, and which have and use us. Their
> existence is unique, and, strictly speaking, indescribable; they can
> *only be* and be *had*, and then be pointed to in reflection. In the
> proper sense of the word, their existence is absolute, being
> qualitative. All cognitive experience must start from and must
> terminate in being and having things in just such unique, irreparable
> and compelling ways. (LW 1:378)
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