Dewey's theory of knowledge radically differed from the views of his contemporaries who saw knowledge as a product of thought. Dewey felt, however, that thought stemmed from humans' interactions with their environments, much as Charles Darwin believed organisms evolved as a result of their surroundings. And as thought stems from environmental interactions, it is knowledge that guides the interaction according to Dewey. He also wrote extensive studies on the the process of inquiry and reflection. Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of the imagination.
Failure is instructive.
The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes. Biography A brilliant educator and philosopher, John Dewey was born in the fall of 1859 in the Vermont town of Burlington. After teaching high school in Pennsylvania and graduating from John Hopkins University graduate philosophy department he went on to teach at the University of Chicago. Finally, he moved to New York to teach at Columbia University where he spent the remainder of his professional life. Return to the Thought Leaders main page Return to top 2001 by SkyMark Corporation.