Human nature and conduct : an introduction to social psychology

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Title:

Author:

Dewey, John, 1859-1952.

ISBN:

9781591020325

Personal Author:

Dewey, John, 1859-1952.

Publication Information:

Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2002.

Physical Description:

p. cm.

General Note:

Includes index.

Originally published: New York : Henry Holt and Co., 1922.

Contents:

Pt. 1. The Place of Habit in Conduct. Sect. I. Habits as Social Functions. Sect. II. Habits and Will. Sect. III. Character and Conduct. Sect. IV. Custom and Habit. Sect. V. Custom and Morality. Sect. VI. Habit and Social Psychology -- Pt. 2. The Place of Impulse in Conduct. Sect. I. Impulses and Change of Habits. Sect. II. Plasticity of Impulse. Sect. III. Changing Human Nature. Sect. IV. Impulse and Conflict of Habits. Sect. V. Classification of Instincts. Sect. VI. No Separate Instincts. Sect. VII. Impulse and Thought -- Pt. 3. The Place of Intelligence in Conduct. Sect. I. Habit and Intelligence. Sect. II. The Psychology of Thinking. Sect. III. The Nature of Deliberation. Sect. IV. Deliberation and Calculation. Sect. V. The Uniqueness of Good. Sect. VI. The Nature of Aims. Sect. VII. The Nature of Principles. Sect. VIII. Desire and Intelligence. Sect. IX. The Present and Future -- Pt. 4. Conclusion. Sect. I. The Good of Activity. Sect. II. Morals are Human.

Sect. III. What is Freedom? Sect. IV. Morality is Social.

Subject Term:

Social psychology.

Habit.

Copies:

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Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168015726165	302 D519H 2002	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This insightful treatise on the essential components of human nature by the great American philosopher and educator John Dewey, in his own words, ôsets forth a belief that an understanding of habit and of different types of habit is the key to social psychology, while the operation of impulse and intelligence gives the key to individualized mental activity.ö Beginning with habits, Dewey discusses these basic patterns of conduct as essential mechanisms that allow individuals to coexist harmoniously within society and to adjust to the outer environment. The process of habit formation is a major part of childhood education as the growing individual learns the established modes of behavior in society.
In the next section Dewey focuses on impulses, which motivate action and are regulated in response to the reactions of others and the learned habits that the society around us instills. Intelligence, the subject of the next part, in DeweyÆs view, is the chief instrument that allows human beings to act creatively and experimentally in response to the demands of both inner impulses and outer challenges. How we use our intelligence to deal with our impulses and habits reflects individual variations of character and largely determines life destinies.
Intelligence is also the key to morality. If we use our intelligence to make moral judgments based on a clear understanding of empirical facts, then there is a far better chance, says Dewey, that our judgments will be good and our actions right, than if we blindly accept moral rules from traditional authorities or unthinkingly give way to natural instincts. Unless we use the tool of intelligence to understand the natural world around us and our own human nature, we cannot make wise value judgments to serve our best interests.
Some eighty years after its original publication, DeweyÆs commonsensical approach, rooted in experience and objective observation, still has much to recommend it to students of ethics, psychology, and sociology.