Creative Intelligence: Essays in the Pragmatic AttitudeDewey, John
Philosophy
Creative Intelligence: Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude
Dewey, John
Philosophy; Pragmatism
The analysis of the fact-structure of reality shows in the first place
that the scientist undertakes to form such an hypothesis that all the
data of observation will find their place in the objective world, and in
the second place to bring them into such a structure that future
experience will lead to anticipated results. He does not undertake to
preserve facts in the form in which they existed in experience before
the problem arose nor to construct a world independent of experience or
that will not be subject itself to future reconstructions in experience.
He merely insists that future reconstructions will take into account
the old in re-adjusting it to the new. In such a process it is evident
that the change of the form in the data is not due to a subjective
attitude of the investigator which can be abstracted from the facts.
When Darwin, for instance, found that the marl dressings which farmers
spread over their soil did not sink through the soil by the force of
gravity as was supposed, but that the earthworm castings were thrown up
above these dressings at nearly the same rate at which they disappeared,
he did not correct a subjective attitude of mind. He created in
experience a humus which took the place of a former soil, and justified
itself by fitting it into the whole process of disintegration of the
earth's surface. It would be impossible to separate in the earlier
experiences certain facts and certain attitudes of mind entertained
by men with reference to these facts. Certain objects have replaced
other objects. It is only after the process of analysis, which arose
out of the conflicting observations, has broken up the old object
that what was a part of the object, heavier-things-pushing-their
way-through-soil-of-lighter-texture, can become a mere idea. Earlier it
was an object. Until it could be tested the earthworm as the cause of
the disappearance of the dressings was also Darwin's idea. It became
fact. For science at least it is quite impossible to distinguish between
what in an object must be fact and what may be idea. The distinction
when it is made is dependent upon the form of the problem and is
functional to its solution, not metaphysical. So little can a consistent
line of cleavage between facts and ideas be indicated, that we can
never tell where in our world of observation the problem of science will
arise, or what will be regarded as structure of reality or what
erroneous idea.
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