Article ID: CBB001201757

Evolution, Poetry, and Growth: Dewey's Romantic Appropriation of the Darwinian Worldview (2013)

unapi

This paper challenges the assumption that John Dewey's appeal to the philosophical significance of evolutionary theory serves primarily to legitimize the sciences. By contrast, I argue that a more careful examination of Dewey's conception of growth reveals that his appropriation of the Darwinian worldview is fundamentally aesthetic. To give contour to the aesthetic Dewey extracts from Darwinism, I consider several aspects of his thought alongside Friedrich Schlegel's conception of romantic poetry. This, in turn, helps to illustrate that, for Dewey, the dramatic subsistence involved in evolutionary development yields a natural aesthetic that makes possible his notion of meaningful experience.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001201757/

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Authors & Contributors
Faflak, Joel
Flach, Sabine
Brady, Michael
Ruse, Michael
Rogers, Hannah Star
Richter, Virginia
Concepts
Evolution
Darwinism
Romanticism
Science and literature
Science and religion
Memorials; commemorations
Time Periods
19th century
20th century, early
Ancient
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
Places
Great Britain
United States
Germany
Europe
Spain
Russia
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