ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION John Dewey, born in Vermont in 1859, was one ofthe USA's foremost pragmatists. Pragmatism as a philosophy emerged in the early 19th century in the USA at a time when many opposing views pulled public opinion and action in different directions. The new scientific world view opposed the religious; romanticism faced positivism; democratic ideals challenged the aristocratic reactionary stance. Pragmatism developed as a unifying or mediating philosophy (Scheffler, 1974), trying to link science and religion, speculative thought and analysis, knowledge and action, and to highlight the responsibilities for the initiation and the consequences of such a unifying theory or philosophy of life. Dewey wrote profusely on 'traditional' philosophical problems of ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, etc, and on 'applied philosophy', such as that expressed in his educational writing. He also published comments and analyses on prevailing social conditions and on politics. His holistic and unifying philosophical ideals may be readily traced in any ofhis works.
