Andrea Fiore

This contribution explores the relationship between familiarity and habit employing Dewey’s and Merleau-Ponty’s insights as theoretical tools. Although the two notions are closely related to each other, their relationship seems to have been overlooked by research. Therefore, in the attempt to start filling the gap, the article shows some aspects (and problems) of the functioning of their mutual interweaving. The argument focuses on habit in the first section, then moves to familiarity in the second, finally coming to the relation between the two, developing some key points and ideas which have emerged along the way. Dewey’s and Merleau-Ponty’s philosophies offer many helpful pointers to accomplish the task. Particularly, the notion of knowledge of familiarity introduced by the French philosopher seems to be significantly relevant.

L’articolo riprende la famosa querelle che vide confrontarsi Benedetto Croce e John Dewey. Si tratta di una riflessione retrospettiva che ha un duplice scopo: da un lato, intende ripercorrere lo scambio tra i due filosofi evidenziando le differenze tra le rispettive posizioni e le ragioni che preclusero un confronto proficuo; dall’altro, si propone di fare il punto su ciò che dopo settant’anni quella polemica ha ancora da dirci intorno all’estetica, campo d’indagine oggi mutato e assai più ramificato rispetto ad allora. Sotto questo aspetto, dato che Dewey è ritenuto un autore fondamentale per il contributo offerto alla ridefinizione della portata e del significato dell’estetica contemporanea, sembra lecito chiedersi se da una discussione meno spigolosa tra i due pensatori sarebbe potuta sortire una diversa influenza sull’estetica posteriore, con ricadute anche su quella italiana. È questa la domanda che ha ispirato il presente contributo, in cui si provano a fornire, da una prospettiva attuale, spunti per possibili risposte.

This paper addresses the issue of the relationship between technology and art in human existence from a Deweyan perspective. The central idea is that Dewey’s aesthetics is a useful instrument for critically reflecting on that issue. Starting from the tenets of Dewey’s aesthetics, the discourse focuses on “imaginative recovery” and “inhabiting,” two key notions for interpreting and managing technology from an aesthetic perspective. The article seeks an answer to the question of whether new technology (particularly ai) is a useful tool or not in art and, ultimately, for the fulfilment of human life.

This article constitutes a theoretical reflection from an educational perspective that places emphasis on the notion of inhabiting in the present technological society. The discussion is based on John Dewey's pragmatism, particularly on the idea of ​​technology resulting from the fundamental tenets of his conception of experience and aesthetics. A key element is the notion of habit, through which we manage our relationship with reality or inhabit it. Starting from an examination of technology in relation to the Deweyan notion of experience, the discussion moves towards the importance of the aesthetic dimension to come, finally, to some considerations on the meaning of habits in education and human existence.

This article constitutes a theoretical reflection from an educational perspective that places emphasis on the notion of inhabiting in the present technological society. The discussion is based on John Dewey's pragmatism, particularly on the idea of technology resulting from the fundamental tenets of his conception of experience and aesthetics. A key element is the notion of habit, through which we manage our relationship with reality or inhabit it. Starting from an examination of technology in relation tothe Deweyan notion of experience, the discussion moves towards the importance of the aesthetic dimension to come, finally, to some considerations on the meaning of habits in education and human existence.

This paper aims to contribute to the present philosophical debate on the emotions, connecting John Stuart Mill and John Dewey. Despite the different historical and theoretical- epistemological background, their deep interest in democracy is an important point of contact between them. Particularly, for both the thinkers the affective and aesthetic sphere has a pivotal role in the development of the individual in a democratic society. The discourse firstly illustrates Dewey’s criticisms of Mill’s notion of individuality; it then briefly shows the role of emotions and sentiments in Mill’s political thought before, finally, comparing Mill’s and Dewey’s ideas of democracy. This comparison shows that if Dewey was right on the theoretical-epistemological (and even psychological) level, he was not on the empirical and practical one, because he and John Stuart Mill share, after all, the same ethos of democracy.

In this paper, Andrea Fiore sketches the notion of familiarity in Dewey's thought, particularly in its relations with education, aesthetics, and art. The importance of that notion emerges in Dewey's well-known writings such as How We Think, The School and Society, and Art as Experience, where he shows that not only does familiarity play a fundamental role in our lives, but it also constitutes a helpful tool to make our experience deeper and richer. This is particularly evident in two aspects or functions related to familiarity: recognition and interpretation. For Dewey, especially the latter has an educational value through aesthetics and art, because it allows us to activate the peculiar capacity of human beings to transform the quality of experience.

Il termine “eclisse” (o eclissi) rimanda al fenomeno astronomico dell’oscuramento della luna o del sole. La stessa parola nel linguaggio figurato indica l’offuscamento o la scomparsa definitiva di una personalità, di un movimento o perfino di un’intera epoca. In questo tempo pandemico assistiamo all’eclisse di molte (pseudo) certezze, a cominciare dall’inviolabilità della sfera personale. Si tratta di una definitiva scomparsa oppure di un occultamento solo temporaneo? Quando la pandemia sarà passata, tornerà tutto come prima? L’eclisse non è un fenomeno permanente: il sole o la luna, dopo essere caduti nell’ombra, poi ritornano visibili e la vita prosegue normalmente. “Eclisse”, quindi, è un termine che in relazione alla pandemia lascia aperto un cospicuo spazio di riflessione giocato proprio sulla sua ambiguità, sul suo essere un tempo sospeso o l’ultimo atto di un tempo felice.

This paper describes the role of love as it emerges in John Stuart Mill’s thought in the light of his idea of human development. The discourse starts from Mill’s view of emotions and sentiments to come to internal culture, through which the human development is fulfilled. Since in the internal culture love is related to sympathy and moral feelings, there will be highlighted its connecting role between individual and collective dimensions. The latter forms itself into the family and extends to the whole society.

This paper aims to analyse the notion of familiarity in Dewey’s pragmatism in order to show its important role as a tool for human beings to interpret the reality, manage it, and act within it. Starting from an examination of Deweyan transactional realism, the discourse focuses on familiarity and its related terms (such as “familiar,” “to familiarize,” but also opposites such as “unknown” or “strange”) in Dewey’s thought, to finally come to highlight its fundamental hermeneutic role. This might be useful to account for a subject of Deweyan thought not so deeply highlighted by scholarship and, at the same time, to show pragmatism’s closeness to hermeneutics regarding the relation between the human being and the real.

This paper aims to suggest some philosophical hints for an environmental education inspired by everyday aesthetics, a comparatively recent research field with many educational and ecological implications. Starting from the definition of everyday aesthetics, the discourse lingers on the connections between everyday aesthetics and education to finally come to the notion of “de-familiarization of familiar”, useful to dismantle the relation human being-environment in order to reconstruct it within a sustainable horizon. Questo contributo intende offrire alcuni spunti filosofici per un’educazione ambientale improntata all’everyday aesthetics, area di ricerca relativamente recente con molteplici implicazioni educative ed ecologiche. Partendo dalla definizione di estetica quotidiana, la trattazione si sofferma sui legami con l’educazione per approdare alla nozione di “de-familiarizzazione del familiare”, utile a destrutturare il rapporto uomo-ambiente per ricostruirlo in un orizzonte sostenibile.

This paper aims to analyse the notion of familiarity in Dewey’s pragmatism in order to show its important role as a tool for human beings to interpret the reality, manage it, and act within it. Starting from an examination of Deweyan transactional realism, the discourse focuses on familiarity and its related terms (such as “familiar,”“to familiarize,”but also opposites such as “unknown” or “strange”) in Dewey’s thought, to finally come to highlight its fundamental hermeneutic role. This might be useful to account for a subject of Deweyan thought not so deeply highlighted by scholarship and, at the same time, to show pragmatism’s closeness to hermeneutics regarding the relation between the human being and the real. Questo articolo si prefigge di analizzare la nozione di familiarità nel pragmatismo di John Dewey, per mostrare come essa sia uno strumento importante a disposizione degli esseri umani per interpretare il reale, orientarsi ed agire in esso. Partendo da un esame del realismo transazionale deweyano, il discorso passa a delineare il ruolo della familiarità ed affini (termini come “familiare”, “familiarizzare” ma anche gli opposti “estraneo”, “ignoto” ecc.) nel filosofo americano fino ad evidenziarne il fondamentale ruolo ermeneutico. In tal modo, è fornito un resoconto su un aspetto del pensiero deweyano non adeguatamente messo in luce dalla ricerca e nello stesso tempo si individua un importante punto di contatto tra pragmatismo ed ermeneutica intorno alla questione del rapporto dell’essere umano con il reale.

Nel 1884 usciva l’articolo What is an Emotion?, con il quale William James, nel clima scientifico influenzato dalle idee di Darwin, provava a dare una risposta ad un interrogativo oggi ancora aperto. Le emozioni, infatti, sono attualmente un campo di ricerca interdisciplinare dove c’è ancora molto da scoprire. Questo libro intende offrire un contributo dal punto di vista filosofico, trattando la questione delle emozioni attraverso un percorso che parte dall’empirismo associazionistico di J. S. Mill, transita per i risultati dell’opera di W. James e termina con la teoria delle emozioni di J. Dewey, lasciando emergere intersezioni con istanze contemporanee, in particolare affini alla fenomenologia.

Il volume confronta due forme di sapere: quello della ragione e quello della magia. Nella prima parte T. Doni presenta le diverse interpretazioni del fenomeno della magia fornite dalle scuole antropologiche sviluppatesi in Europa tra l’Ottocento e il Novecento; A.E. Okonkwo illustra l’interpretazione della magia secondo la prospettiva della tribù nigeriana degli Igbo; I. Faat e M. Marin leggono il culto della dea Iside dall’antico Egitto a tutto il Mediterraneo; F. Sánchez Leyva mostra il dualismo magia-ragione secondo la visione dei nahuatl del Messico; J. Merizal approfondisce come le credenze e le pratiche magiche di matrice precolombiana e africana abbiano ancora una certa incidenza nell’attuale Brasile; D.F. Mendy riflette sul rapporto tra magia e ragione a partire da un caso africano; H. Mono Ndjana sottolinea come esista in alcuni contesti africani una forte influenza e relazione tra magia, religione e le alte sfere politiche. Nella seconda parte M. Marin propone uno studio su Proclo a partire dalla dialettica platonica; G. Perillo confronta la concezione della magia in Alberto Magno con quella di Tommaso d’Aquino; S. Curci riflette su Giordano Bruno in relazione alle arti magiche; G. Baggio presenta uno studio su veggenza e magia in “Sogni di un visionario chiariti con sogni della metafisica” di Kant; C. Freni illustra l’antroposofia di Steiner e la teosofia di Blavatsky; S. Oliva propone uno studio su Wittgenstein, Frazer e la magia; A. Fiore delinea le componenti del nazismo legate al mondo dell’occulto; T. Scaria traccia una storia dell’uso dell’oppio nel contesto culturale indiano. Nell’ultima sezione del volume M. Sinsin cerca di rispondere alla domanda: come nascono i segni nello spirito umano? Sono frutto della pura immaginazione?; K.O. Mwandha offre una riflessione secondo il Codice di Diritto canonico; F. Fernando approfondisce il rapporto tra l’uso della magia e le sue conseguenze morali nell’educazione dei giovani; F. Pasqualetti sottolinea le prossimità tra tecnologia e magia; T. Lewicki coglie nelle opere di Shakespeare una differenza netta tra magia e stregoneria; J. Savariarpitchai riflette sul pensiero del filosofo William Desmond; M. Mantovani analizza il tema secondo la posizione di Tommaso d’Aquino e riflette sull’interesse per “il magico” e “bisogno di fantasy” nell’attuale contesto della “cultura popolare”.

Even though the American thinker John Dewey and the Italian Luigi Pareyson belong to two different philosophical traditions, on the aesthetic ground they show many resonances and similarities. Using Pareyson’s words, “just as it happens between people, who in particularly happy encounters […] reveal themselves to each other,” it is therefore possible to have Dewey’s aesthetics and Pareyson’s dialogue with each other, highlighting their affinities. This operation can strengthen the idea that the aesthetic experience is a way to fulfil human existence. Thus, the hermeneutic character of Pareyson’s aesthetics in combination with Deweyan pragmatist aesthetic theory not only have great importance for the artistic experience, but also considerable value for human beings’ everyday lives. Starting from some Deweyan resonances in Pareyson’s aesthetics, the discourse focuses on his aesthetics in its educational and hermeneutic significance within the dialogue between the two philosophers, coming, finally, to Dewey’s and Pareyson’s aesthetics in connection with so-called “everyday aesthetics.” Although a Deweyan influence on Pareyson is ascertained, and the similarities between them are not superficial at all, it is worth bearing in mind the different backgrounds of the two philosophers in order to accurately situate their reflections.

Philosophers of education are largely unaware of Dewey's concept of transactionalism, yet it is implicit in much of his philosophy, educational or otherwise from the late 1890s onwards. Written by scholars from Belgium, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the USA, this book shows how transactionalism can offer an entirely new way of understanding teaching and learning, the individual and sociocultural dimension of education, and educational research. The contributors show how the concept helps us to see beyond an array of false dualisms, such as mind versus body, self versus society, and organism versus environment, as well as an equally vast array of binaries, such as inside-outside, presence-absence, and male-female. They introduce the key critical ideas that transactionalism represents including emergence; living in a world without a within; the temporally and extensionally distributed nature of meaning, mind, and self. The use and elaboration of transactionalism is grounded in philosophical inquires and in empirical analyses of practices in formal and informal settings including values education, early childhood education, biology education, museum education, coding and computer science, Oceanographic and Atmospheric study, policy

The purpose of this chapter is to present Martha Nussbaum’s position about history and memory in democratic education, and to develop some considerations, starting from Nussbaum’s proposal, to show the importance of both history and memory for the construction of a political sphere based upon healthy emotions. Along the discourse it is highlighted, on one side, the meaning of history as a science, and on the other side its value as a tool to make available, through the memory, an endowment useful to fruitfully manage the present and build the future. Both sides are strongly connected. If the history is not understood as a rigorous discipline, and if the memory is not used in a healthy way, it is not possible to develop a good sense of civic duty and inclusive political emotions.

This paper sketches some elements that define the pedagogical significance of play for the construction and the conservation of a democratic community. Starting from the main principles of Dewey's pedagogy, the discourse focuses on play, intended as the philosophic category of the ludic, first, in connection to doing and experience, two fundamental notions of Dewey’s thought and his philosophy of education; then, it moves towards the relationship between play and work to come, finally, to play in connection to the social and political sphere. Along this path, it will be highlighted the central place occupied by the aesthetic side and affective element, concentrated especially in the definition of emotion given by Dewey, in order to show the link that connects play and democracy.

Starting from Hellenistic philosophy, this paper highlights the importance of the emotions for treatment of social evils on a path that links John Dewey to Martha Nussbaum. The main issue is how to treat those evils without excluding the individual from the society. Following the medical analogy as central idea, it is made visible that effective therapy must include, both theoretically and practically, the Deweyan notion of integration between individual and environment. Starting with this idea, both Nussbaum and Dewey claim that a sound emotional development is a fundamental factor to treat social evils, and at the same time to fulfil the “human flourishing” of individuals embedded in their society.