Philosophy, Theory, and Foundations in Education

In this review of Alison Kadlec’s (2007) Dewey’s Critical Pragmatism the author reviews Kadlec’s analysis of Dewey’s pragmatism through his epistemological, philosophical, educational, and political viewpoints. The author then considers Dewey’s rejection of traditional bifurcations and its implications for a critical pragmatism. Finally, the author notes additional connections in several of Dewey’s original texts and possible implications for future research. The implications of Kadlec’s work, especially her critically pragmatic notion of confluence, are particularly salient in today’s political climate, fraught with dichotomous contention and lacking in open and critical public dialogue. The model of critical pragmatism Kadlec has developed gives us a creative way to approach deliberative democracy in hopes of improving our individual and shared capacity to realize the critical potential of lived experiences in a contingent world.