Abstract

This dissertation examines the intellectual connection between Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Dewey. It both explores the intellectual affinities in the thought of the two men and establishes areas of Emersonian influence on Dewey. In doing so, the source of Dewey's respect for Emerson becomes manifest as does Emerson's place in a distinctively American tradition of thought. ;Chapter 2 focuses on the aims and methods of Dewey's and Emerson's intellectual endeavors and gives particular attention to the central role of experience and intelligence in their thought. Chapter 3 examines shared conceptions of the end of philosophy by examining their perceptions on the nature of the aesthetic experience and the central place both give to open-ended growth. Chapter 4 draws on the previous discussion to help understand how Dewey could perceive Emerson as the philosopher of democracy and compares their perspectives on the value of the community and the individual. Chapter 5 traces out how shared perspectives on intelligence and experience translate into shared perspectives on education. This chapter establishes Emerson as an important forerunner of progressive education in the United States. The final chapter establishes Emerson's influence in three general areas: personal/liberative; specific points of philosophic doctrine, particularly in the areas of aesthetics, morals, and education; and underlying spirit and broad philosophic orientation. It also places Emerson at the head of a distinctively American philosophical tradition