Philosophy and social activism: An exploration of the pragmatism and activism of Jane Addams, John Dewey and Engaged Buddhism

This dissertation is an examination of thinking and activism in two areas of philosophy: early twentieth-century pragmatism and Engaged Buddhism, with primary emphasis on Jane Addams. This study begins with an investigation of biography as a helpful tool in studying philosophy, since biography brings into the study of philosophy particular instances of experience, demonstrates the usefulness (or lack thereof) of ideas in certain specific instances, and allows for the temporal aspect of experiences. This dissertation then uses biographical writing as a tool in examining the philosophy of Jane Addams, John Dewey, Thich Nhat Hanh and Chan Khong.;This work contributes to the recovery of Addams as an original pragmatist philosopher, as a thinker and activist who was a creative force in the formulation of American pragmatism around the turn of the century. Using historical information and original texts, I examine Addams' relationships to John Dewey and William James, showing how Addams influenced and was influenced by both of these thinkers. I conclude that philosophic creativity occurs in relationships, using as an example Dewey's relationships with several women of the Progressive Era. I also demonstrate that Addams was partially responsible for the pragmatist innovations in American philosophy. I examine in depth Addams' and Dewey's philosophic expansion of the concept of democracy from a political reality to a social and ethical ideal, and how this relates to their philosophies of education. A further theme of this dissertation is to reclaim Addams as a powerful feminist who worked her entire life to improve the conditions of lives of women, Her effective method of feminist activism used mediation and reconciliation to enact political and social change; her philosophy of social and political interdependence was consistent with the pluralism of pragmatism.;The section on Engaged Buddhism briefly examines how the traditionally detached philosophy of Buddhism was adjusted by Thich Nhat Hanh and Chan Khong to accommodate radical social engagement. This movement from detachment to social engagement is comparable to the movement in Twentieth Century pragmatism from detached contemplation to social engagement, and as such provides another model of the relationship between thinking and activism.