02/22/2013
The Forum, Living Philosophies VII, March 1930
This article was written as a summary of Dewey's outlook and perspective, not necessarily the development of a particular argument. Author starts by discussing the change in connotation that the concept of "faith" has taken on, from an acceptance of a definite body of beliefs-- a creed-- to a "tendency toward action". This is reflective, author argues, of the change in the culture from the search for unchangeable, immutable substance to an acceptance of change and context-dependent values. This was started with the scientific method and was outwardly manifested with the industrial revolution. Author's pitch is to use the broad term "experience" as the basis for a new set of human values. Interesting: "Search for a single, inclusive good is doomed to failure. Such happiness as life is capable comes from the full participation of all our powers in the endeavor to wrest from each changing situation of experience its own full and unique meaning." (pg179).
Author does not believe that this change in perspective will be a death-knell for religion. Instead, religion will adapt and form onto this new way of approaching values and still be a source of meaning. The main problem, as author sees it, is that religion has become "so respectable", that is, largely ensconced in the social construction. Author takes some time to decry the current system of economic organization, from wage-slavery to the unhealthy distribution of wealth, and further talks about how cynicism or modernity has imperiled the possibility of a systematic philosophy.
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