Human Nature and Conduct · Chapter
Morals Are Human explained
Dewey argues that morals are fundamentally empirical and human, rooted in concrete facts of human nature and environment rather than supernatural commands or abstract ideals.
What happens
Dewey argues that morals are fundamentally empirical and human, rooted in concrete facts of human nature and environment rather than supernatural commands or abstract ideals. He critiques both the error of severing morals from actual facts and the opposite error of treating natural laws as moral norms, as seen in Stoicism, deism, and Spencer's evolutionary philosophy. Dewey emphasizes that knowledge of facts is not an end but a tool for intelligent action, and that conflict, far from being a final norm, serves as a stimulus for thought and deliberate change. He warns against idealizing conflict, as in Marx's class struggle or Darwinian competition, and calls for using facts to modify conditions rather than acquiescing to them.
Themes in this chapter
Social Environment Shapes Morality
Dewey argues that morals grow out of specific empirical facts and that human nature operates in an environment, continuous with its energies, making moral inquiry inseparable from physical, biological, and historical knowledge.
Impulse and Intelligence as Agents of Change
Conflict is described as the 'gadfly of thought' that stirs observation, memory, and invention, and intelligence is tasked with using knowledge of facts to modify conditions rather than conform to them.
Critique of Traditional Morality and Dualisms
Dewey criticizes both supernatural morality and the dualism between the actual and the ideal, as well as the error of treating natural laws as moral norms, advocating instead for a humane, empirical approach.
Characters to notice
- Herbert Spencer
Dewey critiques Spencer's evolutionary philosophy for treating natural laws as moral norms and for justifying laissez-faire by identifying justice with the law of cause and effect.
- Hobbes
Implicitly referenced in the discussion of conflict and the state of nature, though not named directly; Dewey contrasts the idealization of conflict with its role as a stimulus to intelligence.
- Bergson
Mentioned indirectly in the context of impulse and intelligence; Dewey's discussion of conflict as a gadfly to thought aligns with Bergson's emphasis on creative evolution.
- William James
Dewey's pragmatic approach to knowledge and action echoes James's philosophy; the emphasis on the use of facts in a context of desire and habit reflects James's psychology.
Key passages
“Since morals is concerned with conduct, it grows out of specific empirical facts.”
Morality is grounded in observable, concrete facts about human behavior, not in abstract or supernatural principles.
Dewey establishes the empirical foundation of morals, rejecting theological or metaphysical bases.
“But in fact morals is the most humane of all subjects. It is that which is closest to human nature; it is ineradicably empirical, not theological nor metaphysical nor mathematical.”
Morality is inherently tied to human experience and the natural world, not to divine commands, abstract ideals, or formal logic.
Dewey emphasizes the human-centered, empirical nature of moral inquiry.
“It is the part of intelligence to tell when to use the fact to conform and perpetuate, and when to use it to vary conditions and consequences.”
Intelligence involves deciding whether to accept or change circumstances based on knowledge of facts, not merely to obey them.
Dewey highlights the active, deliberative role of intelligence in moral action.
“Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving.”
Conflict provokes critical thinking, creativity, and active problem-solving, breaking us from complacency.
Dewey presents conflict as a positive stimulus for intellectual and moral growth.
