The sun., 1916-12-31

1919
n monthly meeting OF the School,
masters Association Of New
York and Vicinity OF Friday evening.
when Prof. %chn Dewey elucidated and
then discussed with the members. Re-
cent Tendencies I'm Thought and Their
Bearing ON Education
Dr. Dewey. who IL regarded as one ~
the foremost living philosophers. went
right to the root OF modern philosophy
and showed the school -len how vital Is
the contribution which the late William
James made to scholarship In populariz-
Ing the theory that the real business Of
knowledge Is TO give mankind control
over the world. The big name for this
doctrine IL pragmatism.
The largest and most successful din
ner OF the year preceded the address.
In spite Of the heavy snowstorm sew
enty-lve members and guests crowded
the rooms Of the Columbia University
Club on Gramercy Park. The meal was
punctuated with singing. which was I'M
Usually hearty because the chairman Of
the entertainment committee. william
Livingston Haxen. head master of the
Barnard School. had added to the orches-
ira which he had formed earlier In the
year a double quartet of voices. con-
sistlng Of teachers Of Barnard School and
Of Riverdale Country School. They rem
dered superbly q number Of old favorites.
including songs OF the colleges and
"Nancy Lee.'' the whole gathering join
ing heartily In the choruses.
Two college presidents were In the
group. Or. Blodgctt. the new head OF
Adeiphi College In Brooklyn. and Dr.
Grifiiths. the head ~ a missionary coll
lege In Honolulu. the latter a guest Of
Henry Carr Pearson. head Of the Horace
Mann C,hncl npV,har ~ tkn plAar
members OF tho association were also
present, including former Presidents
Wilson Farrand, r. c. Mitchell and Ar
thur Wolfson.
4 pleasant new custom suggested by
the reception committee. the introduce
ton OF members recently elected. was in
stituted. As the proposer presented each
name he was greeted with applause.
In introducing Prof. Dewey. Presi-
dent Jones. himself q teacher Of philos-
ophy, remarked that II ought TO be said
OF a philosopher that he sees life
clearly and sees II wholly" This" he
added, "is true Of John Dewey"
The professional philosopher" began
DR.. Dewey. has n way Of dealing with
philosophy so that the ordinary man
does not recognise his own basis OF
thought. II Is like he professional
mathematician who together are on IA
miliar ground in the field OF higher
mathematics but frequently arc unable
to treat simply OF the common arith-
metic which most OF us alone under
stand in this field.
philosophy IL fundamental n ele-
mentary. and yet with any serious stu
dent II soon reaches remote ramilca-
lions where philosophers find themselves
In pretty substantial agreement. In
deed. Il may be said that philosophers
generally agree IN everything except the
little fundamentals but It II these very
fundamentals that the outsider Is in
terested In, and II is these about which
! wish. to speak.
when. u little while ago, William
James died. far more attention was
given abroad than hero to his contrIbu-
ton to life. because on the other side
his name had become associated with
n philosophy which is felt to be dis
tinctly American. the philosophy OF
p~ragmatism. Prof. james Is not the
originator OF this term. but he has
shown his greatness as a teacher by
making It familiar. He derived It from
Charles $. Peirce--a name known only
to students OF philosophy. So widely
did Prof. James attract attention to tho
ibii'F'lhs VI VI ~ tHht Tic f0-
ropean journals rated him with Elmer
son as one Of he two greatest Ameri-
can contributors To the higher intcllec-
tual life OF the world.
''This pragmatic movement began with
the old. old question as TO tho nature
the extent and the limit Of knowledge.
Most OF the old theories agreed that It
Is the business of knowledge To give
some kind OF a picture. representation
or copy Of the world OF reality, what
ever that reality may be. A correct
duplication would result In true knowl-
edge.
"Pragmatism IL q sort OF thanking OF
these theories. II fiatly asserts tina II
IL no '.e business OF knowledge TO
repres ut or reduplicatc in the mind the
world OF reality. but hat the actual husi-
ness OF knowledge IL To give US control
over the world. Thus. ideas and notions
are true which give US n hold upon
things and a command over them.
THE old theories meant merely a men,
tai form. The value Of tho organ. Of
the body does not depend upon their
power to reproduce things. The hand II
not significant because II r. like or I'M
like anything outside. What makes II
significant Is It's adaptabilIty to achiey-
Ing results with what Is outside itself
II Is n valuable organ because Il is adj
Unstable or adaptable.
"Thinking along the line az evolution,
1t develops that tho mind Is In It's sig
niiicance the same kind Of an organ as
the hand. 1t IL not in the reduplicatlon
or the representation OF tho world out
side that II is valuable. but in getting
hold OF the world in such a way that
things can he put tn n use 20 which they
otherwise could not he put.
zone eason why william James BAD