Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

While most educators know John Dewey as one of the founders of progressive education, in the wider world he is known (along with William James and Charles Sanders Pierce) as one of the three leading lights of pragmatism, and in particular, the pragmatic theory of truth. This article, just posted in the SEP, outlines that philosophy. "By focusing on the practical dimension of having true beliefs, Peirce plays down the significance of more theoretical questions about the nature of truth. In particular, Peirce is skeptical that the correspondence theory of truth—roughly, the idea that true beliefs correspond to reality—has much useful to say about the concept of truth." The article as a whole leans toward a positivist interpretation of pragmatism, equating it in places to verificationism, but I think that my be too strong a reading of the pragmatists.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 11:50 a.m.

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