Chronology Entry
Year
1921
Text
Fei, Juetian. Duwei di she hui yu zheng zhi zhe xue [ID D28517]. [A critique of John Dewey's social and political philosophy].
Fei Juetian wrote a scathing critique of Dewey's lectures on social and political philosophy. Disagreeing with Dewey's comment about the cause of international conflicts, Fei claimed that conflicts exist not between nations, but between classes. It was unrealistic for Dewey to hope that through the development of industry and education, China could endow individuals with rights while also providing the opportunities to exercise those rights. This could be realized only by carrying out a revolution as the Russians did. Fei further asserted that Dewey's experimental approach to politics based on collective inquiry and continuous reform simply did not make sense. "If I tell the world that we should experiment with socialism and see if it works, people would think that I am crazy and would oppose this experiment. If I proclaim that socialism holds the ultimate truth to solving problems in today's society, that there is no better theory than socialism, people will become interested in its practice and help transform the theory into a reality". Fei rejected Dewey's particularistic approach to solving social problems, claiming that social problems were all interrelated and could not be dissected into this or that particular problem. An educational problem may have been tied to a political or economic problem. Fei also disagreed with Dewey that social theories should be grounded in concrete facts, not on abstract speculations. Fei condemned Dewey for overly replying on contingent social knowledge at the expense of eternal truths, without which, he believed, human civilizations would not advance. He completely denounced Dewey's claim that science could be applied to solving social problems. Fei believed that social problems were not difficult to resolve if only the proletariat were made aware of their oppression by the capitalists and thus united to fight for their right. He concluded that Dewey's experimental approach would not work ; only a social revolution, a class war, could provide the antidote to all of China's ills.
Fei Juetian wrote a scathing critique of Dewey's lectures on social and political philosophy. Disagreeing with Dewey's comment about the cause of international conflicts, Fei claimed that conflicts exist not between nations, but between classes. It was unrealistic for Dewey to hope that through the development of industry and education, China could endow individuals with rights while also providing the opportunities to exercise those rights. This could be realized only by carrying out a revolution as the Russians did. Fei further asserted that Dewey's experimental approach to politics based on collective inquiry and continuous reform simply did not make sense. "If I tell the world that we should experiment with socialism and see if it works, people would think that I am crazy and would oppose this experiment. If I proclaim that socialism holds the ultimate truth to solving problems in today's society, that there is no better theory than socialism, people will become interested in its practice and help transform the theory into a reality". Fei rejected Dewey's particularistic approach to solving social problems, claiming that social problems were all interrelated and could not be dissected into this or that particular problem. An educational problem may have been tied to a political or economic problem. Fei also disagreed with Dewey that social theories should be grounded in concrete facts, not on abstract speculations. Fei condemned Dewey for overly replying on contingent social knowledge at the expense of eternal truths, without which, he believed, human civilizations would not advance. He completely denounced Dewey's claim that science could be applied to solving social problems. Fei believed that social problems were not difficult to resolve if only the proletariat were made aware of their oppression by the capitalists and thus united to fight for their right. He concluded that Dewey's experimental approach would not work ; only a social revolution, a class war, could provide the antidote to all of China's ills.
Mentioned People (2)
Dewey, John
(Burlington 1859-1952 New York, N.Y.) : Philosoph, Pädagoge, Psychologe
Fei, Juetian
(um 1921)
Subjects
Philosophy : United States of America
Documents (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2007 | Wang, Jessica Ching-Sze. John Dewey in China : to teach and to learn. (Albany, N.Y. : State University of New York Press, 2007). (Suny series in Chinese philosophy and culture). S. 50-51. | Publication / DewJ2 |
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