more on this theme | more from this thinker
Full Idea
One of the few experiments in the attachment of emotion to ends that mankind has not tried is that of devotion (so intense as to be religious) to intelligence as a force in social action.
Gist of Idea
We should try attaching the intensity of religious devotion to intelligent social action
Source
John Dewey (The Later Works (17 vols, ed Boydston) [1930], 9:53), quoted by David Hildebrand - Dewey 7 'Intro'
Book Ref
Hildebrand,David: 'Dewey' [One World 2008], p.183
A Reaction
An interesting thought that religious emotions such as devotion are so distinctive that they can be treated as valuable, even in the absence of belief. He seems to be advocating Technocracy.
| 22866 | Mind is never isolated, but only exists in its interactions [Dewey] |
| 22873 | Liberalism should improve the system, and not just ameliorate it [Dewey] |
| 22872 | Liberals aim to allow individuals to realise their capacities [Dewey] |
| 22869 | Knowledge is either the product of competent enquiry, or it is meaningless [Dewey] |
| 22870 | No belief can be so settled that it is not subject to further inquiry [Dewey] |
| 22867 | The quest for certainty aims for peace, and avoidance of the stress of action [Dewey] |
| 22864 | Philosophy is the study and criticsm of cultural beliefs, to achieve new possibilities [Dewey] |
| 22879 | 'God' is an imaginative unity of ideal values [Dewey] |
| 22877 | We should try attaching the intensity of religious devotion to intelligent social action [Dewey] |
| 22880 | The things in civilisation we prize are the products of other members of our community [Dewey] |
| 22878 | Religions are so shockingly diverse that they have no common element [Dewey] |