John Dewey's Quest for Unity ─ The Journey of a Promethean Mystic

In this exposition and appreciation of the metaphysics of American philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952), Gale (emeritus, philosophy, U. of Pittsburgh) argues that a leitmotiv that ran through Dewey's works was the quest to synthesize experiential and intellectual mysticism with a Prometheanism that understands humanity as its own creator of meaning and value through the active control of nature by inquiry. Dewey achieved this by requiring that the mystical experience of unification be brought about by the free endeavors of Promethean agents by the use of inquiry and, thus, because the experience of unification with which a successful inquiry ends incorporates itself into the Promethean means that produced it, synthesis is achieved. This is most clearly demonstrated in Dewey's treatment of art and aesthetics and in his account of the true and the good. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Richard M. Gale is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. His principal areas of specialization are the problem of time, negation and nonbeing, philosophy of religion, and pragmatism. His books include The Language of Time, Problems of Negation and Nonbeing, On the Nature and Existence of God, The Divided Self of William James, and God and Metaphysics, all of which explore these issues in depth.