American philosophy and its Eastern strains: Crisis, resilience, and self-transcendence
N. Saito
John Dewey’s Democracy and Education in an Era of Globalization June 15, 2016 DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2016.1183473 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Dewey's anti-foundationalist idea of security holds promise as wisdom for living beyond the risk society, but that Deweyan critical thinking needs further reconstruction and destabilization—opening toward European poststructuralism and East Asia through Cavell's rereading of Emerson and Thoreau—to exercise its fullest power of transcendence. |
Abstract
Abstract This paper will critically reconsider the potential of Dewey’s pragmatist idea of security without foundation. There is some potential in his anti-foundationalism as a form of wisdom for living beyond the risk society. I shall argue that Deweyan critical thinking needs to be further reconstructed, and even to be destabilized, if it is to exercise its best possible power of transcendence. One way to do this is to open its boundaries towards the ‘East’, towards European poststructuralism as well as towards East Asia, thereby destabilizing and transcending the limit of pragmatism. And I propose to do this through the mediation of Stanley Cavell’s rereading of Emerson’s and Thoreau’s American transcendentalism.