John Dewey, The Quest for Certainty

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The quest for knowledge without presuppositions, the quest for certainty, the quest for dogmatism and orthodoxy and rigidity is over

. – Cornel West

John Dewey’s The Quest for Certainty: A Study of the Relation of Knowledge and Action (1929) is one of his most important and influential works. Its themes of reciprocal relationship, rejecting binary oppositions, and the primacy of experience, combined with its powerful criticism of traditional philosophy, continue to make it both read and relevant. The book is divided into eleven chapters: 1) “Escape from Peril”; 2) “Philosophy’s Search for the Immutable”; 3) “Conflict of Authorities”; 4) “The Art of Acceptance and the Art of Control”; 5) “Ideas at Work”; 6) “The Play of Ideas”; 7) “The Seat of Intellectual

2834 words

Citation: Svehla, Lance. "The Quest for Certainty". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 February 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24994, accessed 23 November 2024.]

24994 The Quest for Certainty 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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