On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL

In this short piece, I will dwell on two passages from John Dewey’s book Human Nature and Conduct (1922): the section entitled “Deliberation and Calculation” and the following section “The Uniqueness of Good.” In these passages, Dewey explains the crucial differences between utilitarianism and his...

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Main Author: Jakob Egholm Feldt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Aalborg University Open Publishing 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/pbl/article/view/9186
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author Jakob Egholm Feldt
author_facet Jakob Egholm Feldt
author_sort Jakob Egholm Feldt
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description In this short piece, I will dwell on two passages from John Dewey’s book Human Nature and Conduct (1922): the section entitled “Deliberation and Calculation” and the following section “The Uniqueness of Good.” In these passages, Dewey explains the crucial differences between utilitarianism and his own philosophy, and he elucidates how and why what is “good” happens only once: “In quality, the good is never twice alike. It never copies itself. It is new every morning, fresh every evening” (p. 146). I wish to dwell on these passages because they, as I see it, represent a major challenge to the utilitarian impulse in normativizing PBL and related approaches for the sake of learning or for some societal good. Dewey’s problem-based philosophy, while central to PBL, is also a critical resource for critiques of how we implement PBL programs and practice PBL pedagogies. In these passages, Dewey reveals his belief in the educational event as a unique situation, a happening, which purposefully imagines an outcome but in a fundamentally different way than what we today call outcomes-directed or evidence-based education.
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spelling doaj-art-607e356e2bbb44c2868aa4eed9b8b3342025-08-20T02:39:38ZengAalborg University Open PublishingJournal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education2246-09182024-12-0112210.54337/ojs.jpblhe.v12i2.9186On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBLJakob Egholm Feldt0Roskilde University In this short piece, I will dwell on two passages from John Dewey’s book Human Nature and Conduct (1922): the section entitled “Deliberation and Calculation” and the following section “The Uniqueness of Good.” In these passages, Dewey explains the crucial differences between utilitarianism and his own philosophy, and he elucidates how and why what is “good” happens only once: “In quality, the good is never twice alike. It never copies itself. It is new every morning, fresh every evening” (p. 146). I wish to dwell on these passages because they, as I see it, represent a major challenge to the utilitarian impulse in normativizing PBL and related approaches for the sake of learning or for some societal good. Dewey’s problem-based philosophy, while central to PBL, is also a critical resource for critiques of how we implement PBL programs and practice PBL pedagogies. In these passages, Dewey reveals his belief in the educational event as a unique situation, a happening, which purposefully imagines an outcome but in a fundamentally different way than what we today call outcomes-directed or evidence-based education. https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/pbl/article/view/9186John DeweyPragmatismExperienceThe educational eventUtilitarianism
spellingShingle Jakob Egholm Feldt
On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
Journal of Problem Based Learning in Higher Education
John Dewey
Pragmatism
Experience
The educational event
Utilitarianism
title On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
title_full On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
title_fullStr On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
title_full_unstemmed On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
title_short On the Uniqueness of “Good” in PBL
title_sort on the uniqueness of good in pbl
topic John Dewey
Pragmatism
Experience
The educational event
Utilitarianism
url https://journals.aau.dk/index.php/pbl/article/view/9186
work_keys_str_mv AT jakobegholmfeldt ontheuniquenessofgoodinpbl