Wednesday, January 28, 2009

John Dewey


(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)


John Dewey esseva un philosopho american del seculo XX qui studiava le natura del pensamento. Le pensamento, pro Dewey, es un instrumento inutile si illo non adjuta a trovar solutiones a problemas assatis ben definibile, e ille essayava trovar su mechanismo interior e procedimentos differente pro facer lo plus efficace.

Pro ille, un succession de sonios non es utile in le pensamento, ben que multe inventores e scientistas ha trovate solutiones a problemas multo complicate in lor sonios post que le methodos de Dewey non produceva resultatos utile.

Dewey divideva le fluxo del pensamento a in quatro passos differente. Primo on debe trovar un problema ben definite que possibilemente ha un solution o diverse solutiones.

Postea veni un periodo durante le qual on collige datos significante que possibilemente potera contribuer al solution que on vole trovar.

Tunc, quando il ha un quantitate de datos sufficiente, possibilemente on discoperira un solution o un hypothese. Post arrivar a un solution possibile, on essaya a discoperir si illo es efficace per experimentos sia physic, que es le plus traditional in le scientias, sia mental, un processo grandemente efficace pro Albert Einstein.

Si on executa omne iste passos attentemente e sin errores, il es multo probabile que on ha trovate un solution viabile del problema. E si un serie de experimentos produce resultatos utile pro resolver le problema, le cognoscimentos que illos produce es generalisate, possibilemente pro resolver altere problemas simile.

Iste quatro passos es complicate e a vices multo difficile a executar, e multe hypotheses que eventualmente veni de illos non producera resultatos utile. E si on trova le problema assatis importante o fascinante, forsan on comenciara iste processo de novo o, como nos dice in anglese, "He'll go back to the drawing board".

Altere philosophos critica Dewey pro non haber comprendite le natura del pensamento creative. Diverse studios pare indicar que iste tipo de pensamento ha tres partes.

Primo, como Dewey diceva, il ha le periodo de preparation durante le qual on studia le problema e collige datos que possibilemente contribuera a trovar un solution.

Postea sovente il ha un periodo de incubation quando on oblida le problema e le datos pro un certe periodo de tempore, le qual facilita le processo de lor assimilation desde un perspectivo global. In iste processo le uso de sonios pote esser multo utile.

Iste processo, naturalmente, non pote facer se in haste. Ma si illo es succedite, le tertie parte se revelara forsan multo rapidemente in un fulgure de illumination.

Naturalmente, le solution que emerge pote esser inefficace. E, si on vole mover a un altere problema, on debera repeter iste processo, forsan cercante nove information que poterea esser utile pro producer un resultato succedite.

Le philosophia moderne pare mover se de plus in plus in le direction suggerite per Dewey e altere pragmatistas. Durante que il ha multe philosophos qui lucta con le problema del cognoscimento e qui essaya a discoperir exactemente como nove ideas se forma, le spirito moderne de efficacitate ha dominate tante philosophos que illes deveni multo impatiente con tal pensamento theoric traditional.

Tal philosophos crede que il es inutile essayar a determinar si nove ideas es innate o si illos veni del mundo exterior. Le problemas con le quales luctava Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Herbart pare inutile a illes.

Lor interesse non es tanto in le genese de ideas como in lor function practic pro resolver nove problemas. Illes crede que un idea es inutile si illo non pote esser un instrumento pro resolver problemas ben definite.

Si un tal idea produce resultatos utile pro resolver problemas practic, su production ha essite utile, e, ultra un certe puncto, il es impossibile, o al minus inutile, describer como on lo ha producite. Tal speculationes, secundo illes, es solmente un forma de masturbation intellectual multo minus constructive e interessante que le masturbation erotic.

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John Dewey was a twentieth-century American philosopher who studied the nature of thought. Thought, for Dewey, is an useless instrument if it does not help find solutions to rather well-defined problems, and he tried to find its interior mechanism and different procedures to make it more efficient.

For him, daydreaming is not useful in thought, though many inventors and scientists have found solutions to very complicated problems in their dreams after Dewey's methods did not produce useful results.

Dewey divided the flow of thought into four different steps. First people have to find a well defined problem that possibly has one or several solutions.

Afterward comes a period when they collect significant data that could possibly contribute to the solution they want to find.

Then, when there is enough data, they have the possibility of discovering a solution or a hypothesis. After arriving at a possible solution, they try to discover if it is effective by either physical experiments, which are the most traditional ones in the sciences, or mental ones, a process that was very effective for Albert Einstein.

If all these processes are carried out carefully and without mistakes, it is quite probable that a person has found a viable solution to the problem. And if a series of experiments produces useful results for solving the problem, the knowledge they produce is generalized, possibly for addressing other similar problems.

These four steps are complicated and at times very difficult to carry out, and many hypotheses they eventually come up with will not produce useful results. And if an investigator finds the problem important or fascinating enough, perhaps he'll go back to the drawing board.

Other philosophers criticize Dewey for not having understood the nature of creative thought. Various studies seem to indicate that this type of thought has three parts.

First, as Dewey said, there is the period of preparation when a person studies the problem and collects data that will possibily contribute to finding a solution.

Afterwards, there is often an incubation period when the problem and the data are forgotten for a certain period of time--which eases the process of assimilating them from a global perspective. In this process daydreaming can be very useful.

This process, naturally, cannot be rushed. But if it has been successful, the third part will emerge, possibly very rapidly as if in a flash of lightning.

Naturally, the solution that emerges can be ineffective. And if someone wants to move on to another problem, the process will have to be repeated, perhaps with a search for new information that could be useful for producing a successful result.

Modern philosophy seems to move more and more in the direction suggested by Dewey and other pragmatists. While there are many philosophers who are fighting with the problem of knowlege and who are trying to discover exactly how new ideas are formed, the modern spirit of efficiency has dominated so many philosophers that they are becoming very impatient with traditional theoretical thinking.

Such philosophers believe that it is useless to try try to determine if new ideas are innate or if they come from the outside world. The problems that Kant, Fichte, Schelling, e Herbart fought against seem useless to them.

Their interest is not so much in the origin of ideas as in their practical usefulness for solving new problems. They believe that an idea is useless if it cannot be an instrument for solving clearly defined problems.

If such an idea produces useful results for solving practical problems, its production has been useful, and, beyond a certain point, it is impossible, or at least useless, to describe how it has been produced. Such speculations, according to them, are only a form of intellectual masturbation much less constructive and interesting than sexual masturbation.

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