Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America

This article articulates some of the historic as well as the main philosophic contributions to the transitional period in educational thought in America, 1866-1895. This is a period in which the movement away from idealism towards pragmatism as the basis for educational thought began. Contemporaneou...

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Main Author: James Scott Johnston
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Uberlândia 2023-07-01
Series:Cadernos de História da Educação
Online Access:https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/che/article/view/70073
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author James Scott Johnston
author_facet James Scott Johnston
author_sort James Scott Johnston
collection DOAJ
description This article articulates some of the historic as well as the main philosophic contributions to the transitional period in educational thought in America, 1866-1895. This is a period in which the movement away from idealism towards pragmatism as the basis for educational thought began. Contemporaneous with the development of pragmatism was a development in educational thought that stressed naturalism, functionalism, and the organic nature of mind and behaviour. As idealism laid claim to the dominant philosophy in America in the period 1866-1895, so too did it lay claim to being the dominant philosophic presupposition of educational thought. It was the first American philosophy of education: America’s first philosophy of education was not pragmatist; it was idealist, though this would change, beginning in the mid-1890’s. As pragmatism began to take hold of philosophy at the fin de siècle, so too did it begin to take hold of, and later dominate, the philosophic presuppositions of educational thought.
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spelling doaj-art-e82ce46c5ec34990ab0fe293c04ccd4d2025-08-20T02:50:59ZengUniversidade Federal de UberlândiaCadernos de História da Educação1982-78062023-07-012210.14393/che-v22-2023-20871776Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in AmericaJames Scott Johnston0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0001-9735Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada)This article articulates some of the historic as well as the main philosophic contributions to the transitional period in educational thought in America, 1866-1895. This is a period in which the movement away from idealism towards pragmatism as the basis for educational thought began. Contemporaneous with the development of pragmatism was a development in educational thought that stressed naturalism, functionalism, and the organic nature of mind and behaviour. As idealism laid claim to the dominant philosophy in America in the period 1866-1895, so too did it lay claim to being the dominant philosophic presupposition of educational thought. It was the first American philosophy of education: America’s first philosophy of education was not pragmatist; it was idealist, though this would change, beginning in the mid-1890’s. As pragmatism began to take hold of philosophy at the fin de siècle, so too did it begin to take hold of, and later dominate, the philosophic presuppositions of educational thought.https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/che/article/view/70073
spellingShingle James Scott Johnston
Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
Cadernos de História da Educação
title Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
title_full Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
title_fullStr Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
title_full_unstemmed Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
title_short Idealism, Pragmatism, and the Birth of Pragmatist Educational Thought in America
title_sort idealism pragmatism and the birth of pragmatist educational thought in america
url https://seer.ufu.br/index.php/che/article/view/70073
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