John Dewey Quotes About Observation

Quotes about: Observation

• The only freedom that is of enduring importance is the freedom of intelligence, that is to say, freedom of observation and of judgment, exercised in behalf of purposes that are intrinsically worth while. The commonest mistake made about freedom is, I think, to identify it with freedom of movement, or, with the external or physical side of activity.

  John Dewey

  Wisdom, Mistake, Thinking

  John Dewey (1998). “Experience and Education, 60th Anniversary Edition”, p.69, Kappa Delta Pi

• Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It instigates invention. It shocks us out of sheep-like passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving…conflict is a sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity.

  John Dewey

  Memories, Reflection, Sheep

  John Dewey (2007). “Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology”, p.300, Cosimo, Inc.

• We have three approaches at our disposal: the observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation serves to assemble the data, reflection to synthesise them and experimentation to test the results of the synthesis. The observation of nature must be assiduous, just as reflection must be profound, and experimentation accurate. These three approaches are rarely found together, which explains why creative geniuses are so rare.

  John Dewey

  Science, Reflection, Data

• Intelligent thinking means an increment of freedom in action-an emancipation from chance and fatality. 'Thought' represents the suggestion of a way of response that is different from that which would have been followed if intelligent observation had not effected an inference as to the future.

  John Dewey

  Mean, Intelligent, Thinking

  John Dewey, Jo Ann Boydston, Ralph Ross (2008). “The Middle Works, 1899-1924: 1920”, p.163, SIU Press

• Just as the senses require sensible objects to stimulate them, so our powers of observation, recollection, and imagination do not work spontaneously, but are set in motion by the demands set up by current social occupations.

  John Dewey

  Imagination, Demand, Occupation

  John Dewey (2012). “Democracy and Education”, p.22, Courier Corporation

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