Human Nature and Conduct - Part 4, Conclusion

About this recording

John Dewey, an early 20th Century American philosopher, psychologist, educational theorist. This project encompasses Part 4 of 4 of his book Human Nature and Conduct, An Introduction to Social Psychology, published in 1922. Dewey's uses the words "HABIT" and "Impulse" as a specialized catch-all words to describe how a person and his/her objective environment interact. This interaction is the basis for moral and ethical judgments. Dewey writes: "All habits are demands for certain kinds of activity; and they constitute the self.” In other places he also asserts that "Habits are Will." In the third part of the book, Dewey describes how we make ethical judgments (Dramatic Rehearsal) on the occasions which call upon the exercise of intelligence, and the relationship among aims, goals, means and ends, and emotions.

In this fourth section he ties together the preceding concepts and conclusions

Part 4: Conclusion

Section I: The Good of Activity

Better and worse; morality a process; evolution and progress; optimism; Epicureanism; making others happy.

Section II: Morals are Human

Humane morals; natural law and morals; place of science.

Section III: What is Freedom?

Elements in freedom…

• Early Modern
• Modern