The Essential Dewey Ethics, Logic, Psychology

This two--volume collection of Dewey's writings is drawn from the 37--volume Collected Works of John Dewey (1967--91). Volume 1 covers the general themes of pragmatism, education, and democracy; volume 2 covers ethics, logic, and psychology. The editors are two of the best Dewey scholars: Larry Hickman, John Dewey's Pragmatic Technology (CH, Jun'90), and Thomas Alexander, John Dewey's Theory of Art, Experience and Nature, (CH, Dec'87). The only other broad--based collection in print is John McDermott's two--volume work The Philosophy of John Dewey (CH, May'74). These well--produced volumes show the enormous breadth of Dewey's writing over 50 years. Some quibbles: although clear references are given to the location of the selections in the Collected Works and to the original source of publication, chapter numbers would have been helpful. This reviewer would have liked more on Dewey's attack on the human search for certainty and its consequences, instead of commentaries on other philosophers. Nevertheless, this set should be a very high priority for public libraries lacking the complete works and is essential for small college libraries; researchers in libraries with the complete set will still find these two volumes most useful. All levels. --R. H./P>--Duluth"Choice" (01/01/1999)