Evolution's First Philosopher: John Dewey And The Continuity Of Nature

Evolution’s First Philosopher John Dewey and the Continuity of Nature Jerome A. Popp Evolution’s First Philosopher SUNY series in Philosophy and Biology David Edward Shaner, editor EVOLUTION’S FIRST PHILOSOPHER John Dewey and the Continuity of Nature 찞 JEROME A. POPP S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2007 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Christine L. Hamel Marketing by Michael Campochiaro Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Popp, Jerome A., 1938– Evolution's first philosopher : John Dewey and the continuity of nature / Jerome A. Popp. p. cm. — (SUNY series in philosophy and biology) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6959-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Dewey, John, 1859–1952. 2. Evolution (Biology) 3. Naturalism. I. Title. II. Series. B945.D44P67 2007 191—dc22 2006007120 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Professor Marcia Susan Brown-Popp This page intentionally left blank. Contents Reading Guide xi 1. Evolution and Philosophy 1 Introduction Darwin’s Influence on Dewey Russell’s Rejection of Evolution What about Genetic Determinism? Ultranaturalism The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 1 3 5 8 10 12 13 PART I. THEORY OF EVOLU T ION 2. What Is Darwinian Evolution? 17 Introduction Sources of Variation Three Kinds of Selection The X and Y Chromosomes Lamarckian Evolution The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 17 19 25 28 31 35 35 3. Preparedness versus Plasticity 37 Dewey and Unlearned Activities Where Impulses Come From vii 37 40 viii CONTENTS Preparedness versus Plasticity Is Euclidean Geometry Innate? The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 4. Brain Development and the Emergence of the Mind The Triune View of the Brain The Brain and Information Processing Neuron Elimination The Theory of Memes From Consciousness to Mindedness The Mind as a Virtual Machine The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 43 46 50 51 53 53 54 57 60 64 68 70 71 PART II. MORALI T Y NAT URALIZED 5. Can Evolution Tell Us What to Do? Does Natural Selection Have Foresight? The Problem of the Normative Dewey’s Solution Democracy as Means Intelligence as End Means-Ends Logic The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 6. Democracy and the Baldwin Effect Intelligence as Inherently Social The Moral Context of Growth Dewey’s Criteria for Democracy The Baldwin Effect Democracy and the Baldwin Effect Memeopathy as an Obstacle to Growth Developing Autonomous Agents Philosophy for a Small Planet The Discussion Thus Far Consider Reading 75 75 79 81 84 86 89 93 94 95 95 97 101 103 106 110 111 114 117 117 CONTENTS 7. Evolution and Liberalism Introduction Three Views of the Individual-Society Relationship Classical Liberalism Dewey’s New Liberalism Why Nondemocratic Schools Are Miseducative Thomas West’s Attack on Dewey’s Progressive Liberalism Thomas West versus Thomas Jefferson Is Dewey’s Theory of Mind Too Optimistic