This article is a response to three articles that examine the promise of pragmatism for educational administration. The first, by Professors Zanetti and Carr, rejects pragmatism outright yet only refers to pragmatism obliquely if at all. This article does not seem sufficiently knowledgeable to provide any analysis, pro or con. The remaining articles evaluate the promise of pragmatism positively and seem well warranted in their appraisal. The article by Professor Snider does a good job of setting the historical context of pragmatism and explaining why it never caught on in public administration, and the article by Professor Evans also provides critical and creative appraisal. This article is an attempt to play the three articles off of each other in ways that allow them to illuminate one another.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bernstein, R. (1978). The restructuring of social and political theory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
2.
Bernstein, R. (1992). The new constellation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
3.
Dewey, J. (1915/1979). The logic of judgments of practice. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The middle works (Vol. 8, pp. 14-82). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
4.
Dewey, J. (1916/1980). Democracy and education. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The middle works (Vol. 9). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
5.
Dewey, J. (1922/1983). Human nature and conduct: An introduction to social psychology. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The middle works (Vol. 14). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
6.
Dewey, J. (1925/1981). Experience and nature. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works“ (Vol. 1). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
7.
Dewey, J. (1925/1984). The development of American pragmatism. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works“ (Vol. 2, pp. 3-21). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
8.
Dewey, J. (1927/1984). The public and its problems. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works (Vol. 2, pp. 235-372). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
9.
Dewey, J. (1929/1984). The quest for certainty. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works (Vol. 4). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
10.
Dewey, J. (1932/1985). Ethics. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John DPewey: The later works (Vol. 7). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
11.
Dewey, J. (1938/1986). Logic: The theory of inquiry. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works (Vol. 12). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
12.
Evans, K. G. (2000). Reclaiming John Dewey: Democracy, inquiry, pragmatism, and public management. Administration & Society, 32, 308-328.
13.
Fry, B. R. (1989). Mastering public administration. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House.
14.
Garrison, J. (1998). Toward a pragmatic social constructivism. In M. Larochelle, N. Bednarz, & J. Garrison (Eds.), Constructivism and education (pp. 43-60). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
15.
Gouldner, A. W. (1976). The dialectic of ideology and technology: The origins, grammar, and future of ideology. New York: Seabury Press.
16.
Habermas, J. (1979). “What is universal pragmatics”: Communication and the evolution of society. Boston: Beacon.
17.
Hempel, C. G. , & Oppenheim, P. (1948). Studies in the logic of explanation. Philosophy of Science, 15, 135-178.
18.
Joas, H. (1985). G. H. Mead: A contemporary re-examination of his thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
19.
Lippmann, W. (1922/1965). Public opinion. New York: Free Press.
20.
McKeon, R. (Ed.). (1971). Aristotle: Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans.). New York: Random House.
21.
Mead, G. H. (1922/1964). A behaviorist account of the significant symbol. In A. J. Reck (Ed.), Selected writings: George Herbert Mead (pp. 240-247). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
22.
Peirce, C. S. (1878/1992). How to make our ideas clear. In N. Houser & C. Kloesel (Eds.), The essential Peirce (Vol. 1, pp. 124-141). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
23.
Seigfried, C. H. (1996). Pragmatism and feminism: Reweaving the social fabric. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
24.
Snider, K. F. (2000). Expertise or experimenting? Pragmatism and American public administration: 1920-1950. Administration & Society, 32, 329-354.
25.
Stuhr, J. J. (1997). Geneological pragmatism: Philosophy, experience, and community. Albany: State University of New York Press.
26.
West, C. (1989). The American evasion of philosophy. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
27.
Zanetti, L. A. , & Carr, A. (2000). Contemporary pragmatism in public administration: Exploring the limitations of the “third productive reply.”Administration & Society, 32, 433-452.
