Leibniz’s New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding: A Critical Exposition

by John Dewey

Publisher:

S. C. Griggs & Co.

, 1888

Overview

Originally commissioned for the German Philosophical Classics for English Readers and Students series, Dewey’s Leibniz’s New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding examines the merits of G. W. Leibniz’s philosophical views in contrast to British empiricism. Dewey highlights Leibniz’s critique of John Locke, praising Leibniz as embodying the “dawning consciousness of the modern world.” Yet, he criticizes Leibniz’s for failing to reconcile his formal logic with the exercise of everyday thought. Like Psychology, Leibniz’s New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding reflects Dewey’s early commitment to Hegelian idealism, yet anticipates the examination of the process of inquiry that will figure centrally in his future works.

Product Details

• Title: Leibniz’s New Essays Concerning the Human Understanding: A Critical Exposition
• Author: John Dewey
• Series: German Philosophical Classics
• Publisher: S. C. Griggs & Co.
• Print Publication Date: 1888
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716
• Resource ID: LLS:LEIBNIZDEWEY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:12:14Z

About John Dewey

John Dewey was the most famous teacher of philosophy in the early twentieth century, and he was known for his lifelong work to reform America’s educational system. Dewey was born in Burlington, Vermont, in 1859 to strict Calvinist parents. After graduating from the University of Vermont, Dewey taught high school and studied philosophy in his spare time. He finished his doctorate degree at Johns Hopkins University and continued to teach at various universities around the country, finally landing at Columbia University. While in New York, Dewey became involved in political groups and founded what would become the progressive education movement, which purported that students should learn to think for themselves to become active participants of a democratic society. He was also a founding member of the NAACP and the ACLU. At this time, Dewey was influenced by Karl Marx, and after traveling to different countries to study their educational systems, praised Soviet education and came under critical scrutiny in the United States. Dewey continued his political and philosophical efforts until his death in 1952.