John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He is regarded as one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century.
The overriding theme of Dewey's works was his profound belief in democracy, be it in politics, education, or communication and journalism. As Dewey himself stated in 1888, while still at the University of Michigan, "Democracy and the one, ultimate, ethical ideal of humanity are to my mind synonymous." Known for his advocacy of democracy, Dewey considered two fundamental elements—schools and civil society—to be major topics needing attention and reconstruction to encourage experimental intelligence and plurality. Dewey asserted that complete democracy was to be obtained not just by extending voting rights but also by ensuring that there exists a fully formed public opinion, accomplished by communication among citizens, experts, and politicians, with the latter being accountable for the policies they adopt.
Dewey was one of the primary figures associated with the philosophy of pragmatism and is considered one of the fathers of functional psychology. His paper "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology," published in 1896, is regarded as the first major work in the (Chicago) functionalist school. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Dewey as the 93rd most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
Dewey was also a major educational reformer for the 20th century. A well-known public intellectual, he was a major voice of progressive education and liberalism. While a professor at the University of Chicago, he founded the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where he was able to apply and test his progressive ideas on pedagogical method. Although Dewey is known best for his publications about education, he also wrote about many other topics, including epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, art, logic, social theory, and ethics.
'Hvordan vi tænker' regnes for et af Deweys hovedværker, fordi han heri præsenterer og udfolder begrebet om ‘den refleksive tænkning’, et begreb, som er helt centralt hos ham igennem hele forfatterskabet.
Dewey definerer helt kort refleksiv tænkning som “den form for tænkning, der består i at vende et tema i hovedet og underkaste det en alvorlig og sammenhængende overvejelse.” Denne definition udvikler og underbygger Dewey bogen igennem – hele tiden i relation til den refleksive tænknings betydning for uddannelsesprocessen. De studerende må bibringes lyst til at undersøge og reflektere over, hvad de har lært, ud fra en skeptisk, nysgerrig og eftertænksom tilgang. Undersøg et problem, find en løsning, tænk over, hvorfor det lykkedes eller ikke lykkedes og lær af dine successer og fejltagelser. Deweys påstand er, at man kan lære at tænke og lære at værdsætte processen lige så meget som resultatet.
Hvordan vi tænker er med sin klare og spændende fremstilling relevant for alle, der interesserer sig for filosofi, pædagogik, sociologi og psykologi. Og naturligvis for praktikere inden for professionerne, hvad enten det drejer sig om lærere, pædagoger, sygeplejersker – eller personaleudviklere, medarbejdere og ledere.
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