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JOHN DEWEY and PRAGMATIC ECONOMICS by Jennifer K

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JOHN DEWEY and PRAGMATIC ECONOMICS by Jennifer K JOHN DEWEY AND PRAGMATIC ECONOMICS By Jennifer K. Thompson Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Philosophy May, 2005 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Professor John Lachs Professor Michael Hodges Professor Henry Teloh Professor Robert Ehman Professor Roberta Herzberg Copyright © 2005 by Jennifer K. Thompson All Rights Reserved To Danny, who always believed, even when I did not and To my mother, my father, Katie, and Andy, who have made this and so much more possible iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have, I am afraid, more debts than I can ever hope to repay in one lifetime. As I reflect on all of the people who have played a role in the completion of this dissertation, I find I am truly humbled by the generosity from which I have benefited. This work would not have been possible without the generous financial support provided by two fellowships: an H.B. Earhart Fellowship from the Earhart Foundation of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Durning Sisters Fellowship from the Delta Delta Delta Foundation of Arlington, Texas. I am also indebted to the Department of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University, Kaplan Educational Centers, the Center for Talent Development at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, and Liberty Fund, Inc. for providing employment opportunities to me throughout my graduate school career. These opportunities were, of course, financially significant, but they were more than mere jobs. Each one of these positions enabled me to further my own interests and philosophical study. Without these opportunities and the benefits they provided, it would have been financially and intellectually impossible to complete this dissertation. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my present employer, Liberty Fund, Inc. The patience, understanding, and assistance that my colleagues and the Board of Directors at Liberty Fund have offered me have provided the impetus for me to finish this project. Liberty Fund has also afforded me numerous opportunities for study and research in the course of my duties there, and I have benefited from conversations about my dissertation topic with numerous outstanding scholars I have met through Liberty Fund. I would like to particularly thank Mr. T. Alan Russell, Chairman of Liberty Fund, iv for his encouragement and consideration. My supervisor (and fellow philosopher) at Liberty Fund, Dr. Douglas J. Den Uyl, Vice President of Education, has been especially supportive, and I appreciate all of his philosophical and professional advice. Without Dr. Den Uyl’s early interest in my work and his willingness to serve as a reference for me, I doubt seriously that I would ever have had the opportunity to work at Liberty Fund and, thus, to finish this dissertation. I have had the great good fortune for the past four years to work for these two people who I trust, admire, and respect. There have been four scholars who have been especially influential in my study of philosophy. At the University of Tulsa, Professor Jacob Howland of the Philosophy and Religion Department and Professor Paul Rahe of the History Department were, quite simply, responsible for my initial interest in philosophy. They were the best kind of teachers: they showed me that the greatest instructors are those who never stop learning and those who see the classroom as a place for furthering their own education as well as that of their students. Professor Nicholas Capaldi, now Legendre-Soule Distinguished Chair in Business Ethics at Loyola University New Orleans, has consistently given me sound advice and has always been immensely generous with his time and assistance. Though I know he disagrees with some of the choices I have made in my career (and writing a dissertation on John Dewey would likely be near the top of that list), he has proven himself to be a truly liberal thinker: he has always respected these choices. Any success I have had in my graduate career has largely been due to his influence and support. I would like to express my deep appreciation for the guidance of Professor John Lachs. Professor Lachs has taught me to be a better teacher and a better thinker, and he v has done all of this without looking over my shoulder at every step of the way. I have had the luxury, during my graduate studies, of never having had to doubt my advisor’s support and confidence. I do, however, doubt that I have always deserved such support and confidence, so I am particularly appreciative of his generosity. I do hope that someday I can prove myself worthy of his faith in me. As I noted above, the list of people I have to thank for their help with this project may well exceed the length of the project itself. But I would be remiss if I did not mention several others who have provided invaluable advice, assistance, and (what was often most important) sympathy at various points during this process: Professor Roberta Herzberg, Ms. Karen Gilmore, Dr. David A. White, Mrs. Judy Thompson, Dr. Sarah Cunningham, and Dr. and Mrs. Harold Watkins. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the influence and support of my family. My mother and father, Kay and Paul Thompson, have taught me diligence and responsibility, and they have been very good at reminding me of those lessons over the past few years. I have appreciated those reminders, and their continued interest in my success has been a blessing. I appreciate tremendously the fact that my sister, Kathryn Farmer, has probably long questioned why I should want to pursue a career in philosophy, but she has never once questioned my ability to do it—and she has subsequently done everything she can to help me in this pursuit. And I will always be thankful for the advice of my brother, Andrew Thompson, who reminded me that this project was my own and that its completion ultimately depended on me (and not upon any one of the many justifications I have tried to devise in order to accomplish it). vi There are no words sufficient to express the extent of my gratitude to my husband, Daniel Hargrove. I can only say, as clichéd as it may sound, that his support, advice, and his unwavering belief in me have helped me to become everything that I am today. Without his very practical and timely reminder that I was, at one time, a person who could finish this project, I doubt very much that I should ever have become that person again. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................iv Chapter I. JOHN DEWEY AND ECONOMICS ........................................................................1 John Dewey and the place of economics in his philosophy and life .............................1 Thesis .........................................................................................................................4 Economics and the methods of science .......................................................................8 Dewey’s “economics”...............................................................................................10 Project history and explanation .................................................................................17 Plan of chapters and methodology.............................................................................20 II. THE ECONOMIST’S “ECONOMICS” ..................................................................25 Economics and Dewey’s philosophy.........................................................................25 Behavior and rationality ...........................................................................................30 Human nature and “economic man”..........................................................................31 Means, ends and efficiency .......................................................................................36 Certainty, uncertainty and risk ..................................................................................38 Economic models and theories..................................................................................40 Economics as positive or normative..........................................................................45 Human development and fulfillment .........................................................................51 III. BEHAVIOR ...........................................................................................................56 Economics, pragmatism, and behavior ......................................................................56 Dewey on behavior ...................................................................................................58 Habit.........................................................................................................................61 Environment .............................................................................................................64 Uncertainty, moral theory, and behavior ...................................................................69 The experimental method, economics, and human behavior......................................72 IV. RATIONALITY, AND MEANS AND ENDS.......................................................75 Dewey’s “rationality” in contrast to more traditional philosophical accounts.............76 Means and ends ........................................................................................................83
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