ERIC Number: EJ1472039
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-2004
EISSN: EISSN-1741-5446
Available Date: 2025-05-10
Distinctions between Soul and Spirit in Dewey's Philosophy: Growth toward an Aesthetic Ideal in Learning
Becky L. Noël Smith1; Randy Hewitt2
Educational Theory, v75 n3 p478-500 2025
The differences between soul and spirit can be quite difficult to understand throughout the works of John Dewey. What are they, how do they differ, and how do they relate to meaningful growth? Drawing from his personal correspondence and an analysis of the work in the later part of his life, Becky Noël Smith and Randy Hewitt conclude that, in reference to growth and flourishing specifically, Dewey's writings contain three nuanced meanings of soul. First, Noël Smith and Hewitt provide a framework for understanding his naturalized conception of soul and spirit. Then, they explore how these can help reframe how we think and talk about learning experience, relationships, and processes. The aim is to recover an inspired view of education, one grounded in a fuller sense of human becoming and rich in democratic and aesthetic dimensions.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Kremen School of Education and Human Development, California State University, Fresno; 2School of Teacher Education, University of Central Florida