Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
1-2004
Abstract
In the 1920s, John Dewey’s followers in China, led by his student HuShih, attempted to put his pragmatism into practice in their quest for democracy.This essay compares Hu Shih’s thought, especially his emphasis on pragmatism asmethod, with Dewey’s philosophical positions and evaluates Hu’s achievement asa pragmatist in the context of the tumultuous times he lived in. It assesses Hu’sclaim that the means to democracy lies in education rather than politics, sincedemocracy as a way of life requires a cultural renewal beyond institutionalchanges. It argues that a problem-centered approach to social change does notpreclude radical action, even revolution. But pragmatism is against gratuitous useof violence in the service of wholesale and abstract ideals advocated by various‘‘isms.’’ While Hu’s experiment of democracy in China is a significant episode inthe history of pragmatism, its ‘‘failure’’ does not prove that there are inherentflaws in the pragmatist method, that pragmatism is unviable for China. Thefailure needs to be understood in the context of the pragmatist conception ofexperiment, in which failures are to be expected; what is important is to learnfrom them to achieve better results in the next stage of inquiry. Hu Shih’spragmatism contains lessons for pragmatists and for those interested in thecontinued quest for democracy in ChinaFthe experiment continues.
Keywords
Hu Shih, John Dewey, democracy, China, May Fourth movement, method, educational reforms, Chinese pragmatism
Discipline
Arts and Humanities
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Metaphilosophy
Volume
35
Issue
1
First Page
44
Last Page
64
ISSN
0026-1068
Identifier
10.1111/j.1467-9973.2004.00305.x
Publisher
Wiley: 24 months
Citation
TAN, Sor-hoon.(2004). China’s pragmatist experiment: Hu Shih’s pragmatism and Dewey’s influence in China. Metaphilosophy, 35(1), 44-64.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2539
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9973.2004.00305.x