This is the 7th lecture of [[Stephen Hicks]]'s [[PA Philosophy of Education]] course on [[Peterson Academy]]. Progressivism is largely a response against America's live and let live, do whatever you want, self-responsible philosophy that was characteristic of that time. The year 1913, Woodrow Wilson is elected as President of the United States. Wilson wants democracy to be understood as power in the hands of the people—not individual people, but people as a collective, which brings it closer to socialism. He thinks that "government should… make itself an agency for social reform." He argues that charity and philanthropy ought to be functions of the government, instead of private organizations. Progressivism is very much inseparable from pragmatism. Two heroes of American pragmatism are John Dewey and William James. Greek word "pragma" means action. The focus of pragmatism is practicality or "action"-ability, and experiment-ability, leaving behind abstract reasoning. [[William James]]' defines "cash value" as the practical difference an idea makes in real life. Pragmatism positions itself as a theory with high cash value. William James, building upon the legacy of Charles Darwin, advocated for studying the core of the human being as a biological creature and not a ghostly, supernatural thing—more talks of brains, less talk of souls. He thinks it is only by treating the human being as such that we can meaningfully study humans. It is in fact only with the evolutionary understanding of human beings that Psychology as an established front was possible. On the educational front, he gave a talk to teachers arguing that teachers have to be good psychologists. His ideas in Education can be found in "Talk to Teachers." John Dewey, born on the same year Origin of Species was published, argued that since the world changes as a result of conflict, our moral and political ideas must change, too. Change, conflict, and evolution become the most important topics to be studied. This is a huge shift from the traditional inquiry into the eternal and absolute principles that govern the world. Flexibility and adaptability becomes desirable traits that we ought to attain. Dewey saw democracy as a shared moral identity, beyond a mere political system. With this comes a social structure of constructing truth—shared truths. His great work on education is "Democracy and Education." Dewey's view of the human individual places the emphasis on the collective over the individual. He thinks of each as merely "carriers of the life experiences of the group" and that while humans live and die, groups live on. Education, then, aims at the maintenance of the group's identity and existence over time. "Education, in its broadest sense, is the means of this social continuity of life."[^1] The "interests, purposes, information, skill and practices of the mature members" of the group serve as the exemplar by which all people ought to be initiated into. Individuals only form a community if they are all aware of and aims at the common end of the group. Notable figure of progressivism Jane Addems won a noble for her work on Hull House in Chicago. Hull House took in immigrants and helped them assimilate into American culture by providing them with formal language training, and much more. This stemmed from a deep dissatisfaction at America's general indifference towards immigrants. She believed that democracy is properly understood as that "we belong to the whole."[^2] Another notable figure was Du Bois who wrote extensively about progressivism in aid of black Americans.[^3] He thought religious institutions were an obstacle to progress, and looks up to the Soviet Union for "dethroning the clergy" and removing religion from schools.[^4] Social justice, in contrast to justice, is a communal model of rightness and fairness. For the progressives, charity is not justice, but reinforces shame and hierarchy. Wealth transfer is, instead, an act of social justice. It is no longer a praise-worthy for an individual to care for the many, but morally deplorable if he does not provide for needs of the many. To see no value in personal achievement but to only find value in achievements of the many is demanded of each individual, according to Jane Addems. Henry Adams—a pragmatist—sees philosophy as intelligible discourse to unsolvable problems. Philosophical things like contradictions are a waste of time and should be ignored. Education builds ignorance from the gathering of inert facts.[^5] He was also in the era of massive Prussian influence on American education. He thinks it is a miracle that education hasn't destroyed all parties involved, teachers and students alike. Pragmatic reform is much needed. As a whole, the progressive view of education is that students should learn to contribute to social justice in a rapidly changing world, and teachers are agents that act to form students in that direction. --- Back to: [[PA Philosophy of Education]] Previous Lecture: [[Strict German Reforms]] Next Lecture: [[The Montessori Method]] [^1]: John Dewey, *Democracy and Education* [^2]: Jane Addems, *Democarcy and Social Ethics* (1902) [^3]: Du Bois, *The Souls of Black Men* [^4]: Du Bois, *The Autobiography of W.E.B Du Bois* (1968) [^5]: Henry Adams, *The Education of Henry Adams*