DEWEYAN PROPHETIC PRAGMATISM, POETRY, AND THE EDUCATION OF EROS

Eros and education is an ancient theme in Western thought, and from th e beginning it has been associated with moral development, creativity, and, above all, wisdom. The topic of Eros and education has disappear ed from the contemporary educational conversation. It is a sign, perha ps, of the overly intellectualistic and hyperrationalized way we have of thinking about education. This article seeks to reconvene the ancie nt conversation as well as to restore some of the traditional connecti ons between love, poetry, creativity, and wisdom. Eros will allow us t o think about these topics in effective, even if largely forgotten, wa ys. Next, I will identify the theme of Eros and education in the work of John Dewey. This will be done by emphasizing his work on art and ae sthetics where it becomes clear that science, logic, and the method of inquiry are themselves understood aesthetically and as subordinate to the acts of creation. I will make use of Thomas Alexander's idea of ' 'the Human Eros.'' The article concludes with a discussion of prophecy and the educational tasks that lie beyond good and evil. It is sugges ted that critical pedagogues must appear to their students as prophets in the Deweyan sense.