The Great Philosophers course is an opportunity to study a philosopher, or a group of philosophers, in depth and in relation to the context of his/her biography and historical period. In this way, we can truly see the development of a philosopher's thinking as determined by personality, growth, and social influences.
Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey all developed in interconnected ways from the mid-19th Century through the mid-20th Century. As Americans, they represent the development and advancement of a distinctive approach to philosophy called Pragmatism. Their lives revolved around some of the most interesting and important rising institutions in the American scene -- Harvard, Johns Hopkins, the University of Chicago, and Columbia. Collectively, they thought through the important issues of their times -- science, religion, psychology, education, democracy, and the arts.
Personal Information
My office is Rm 1249 in Parson's Hall. You can contact me by phone at 607-3148; but you can contact me more quickly by e-mail at Tad_Beckman@hmc.edu.
Resources for this course are on the Web and are found at http://www4.hmc.edu/humanities/dewey/index.htm. You may want to create a bookmark here so that you can return easily. For this course, you will find a copy of the syllabus, a schedule (which will be updated throughout the semester), paper assignments, course notes (which take the place of background lectures), and resources (which point to a number of philosophically interesting sites on the Web).
We also have an e-mail list at Phil-170-L@hmc.edu . I hope that you will take advantage of this form of communication to ask questions that haven't been adequately answered in class discussions, make comments about readings and discussions, etc.
Assignments and Expectations
Attendance and participation in class discussions are expected. If there is any reason why you cannot attend this class regularly, please see me immediately. Since the bulk of class time will be devoted to discussion of the texts, it is essential that everyone finish the assigned reading before class and be prepared to talk about it and ask questions, intelligently. See the reading schedule.
Since critical thinking about a text should begin with the reading and prior to sitting in class, I will ask each student to contribute a discussion of some point that comes out of each day's reading. The discussion site can be reached from the Course Home Page. You will find further directions there.
There will be three writing assignments during the semester, the last of which will be a culminating term paper. Due dates are indicated on the schedule. See the separate page for paper assignments.
Grading will be based on the following approximate distribution of emphasis:
Participation in class discussions (20%)
Web discussion submissions (30%)
Papers:
--- midterms (2) (15% each)
--- term paper (20%)
Bibliography
AUTHOR: Peirce, Charles S.
TITLE: Charles S. Peirce; Selected Writings
IMPRINT: : Dover Publications, Incorporated, , June 1966
ISBN/PRICE: 0486216349 PT; USD 11.95 R
AUTHOR: James, William
TITLE: Writings, 1902-1910; The Varieties of Religious Experience; Pragmatism; A Pluralistic Universe; The Meaning of Truth; Some Problems of
Philosophy; Essays
IMPRINT: New York : : Library of America, The, , Feb. 1988
ISBN/PRICE: 0940450380 TC; USD 37.50 R
AUTHOR: Dewey, John
TITLE: The Child & the Curriculum & the School & Society
IMPRINT: Chicago : University of Chicago Press, Nov. 1990ISBN: 0226143961 Paper Text
AUTHOR: Dewey, John
TITLE: Theory of the Moral Life
IMPRINT: Irvington Publishers, Feb. 1992
ISBN: 0829031502 Trade Paper
AUTHOR: Dewey, John
TITLE: Reconstruction in Philosophy
IMPRINT: Boston : Beacon Press, Jan. 1957
ISBN: 0807015857 Trade Paper
AUTHOR: Dewey, John
TITLE: Democracy & Education; An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education
IMPRINT: New York : Free Press, The, June 1966
ISBN: 0029073707 Trade Paper
AUTHOR: Dewey, John
TITLE: Freedom & Culture
IMPRINT: Amherst : Prometheus Books, Oct. 1989
ISBN: 0879755601 Trade Paper
Updated on January 14, 2000; click here to return to Course HomePage.