This dissertation will make the case that education at the post-secondary level must be reimagined. Rather than being organized around abstract bodies of information, it must be centered on moments of transformation out of which teaching, learning, knowing and -- in fact -- democratic individuals emerge. This reconstruction of education takes place through two primary moves. First, I make the case that contemporary schooling is grounded in a flawed model of knowing, which draws together mistakes in thinking about the nature of the self, of knowledge, and of the world, which are contained in the epistemological proposition: "S knows that p." In doing so, I argue that the German conception of Bildung must replace "S knows that p" as the guiding paradigm of knowing within educational practice. In doing so, I develop a theory of creative inquiry in order to claim that knowledge emerges from embodied, social action and is a form of artistic practice. Second, I develop a pedagogy, which I call emergent pedagogy, based on the theory of inquiry articulated in the first half. Here, I argue that post-secondary pedagogy must emerge out of the contexts, situations, and communities in which students and faculty are embedded. In this way, pedagogy must be considered a kind of artistic practice in which methods are adapted to and intuited from unique problems experienced by the university community. Ultimately, I show that pedagogy must shift from being viewed as a kind of telling and hearing to a form of participatory making. / Ph. D.

A distinctive feature that separates pragmatism from traditional epistemological positions is its turns to a community of inquirers. The community, as understood by pragmatists, is not merely a collection of individuals, though this is certainly part of the story. Rather, 'community' refers to a much more refined philosophical notion. The community is a framework of rules and standards for proper inference, judgments, and conduct that are determined by inquirers who share membership in a group. In turning to the community, pragmatists reject the methodological individualism of epistemological models produced under the influence of Descartes, and maintain that knowledge can only be secured in an intersubjective context within which substantive discussion and criticism are promoted and conducted. Pragmatists such as Charles S. Peirce, John Dewey, and Wilfrid Sellars and contemporary descendents of pragmatism like Wilfrid Sellars embraced the notion of community and developed the crucial role it plays in evaluating knowledge claims. The aim of this thesis is two-fold. I examine critically the role the community plays in pragmatic epistemology by looking closely at the philosophies of Charles S. Peirce and Wilfrid Sellars. Additionally, I examine whether the turn to community enables pragmatists to respond to philosophical problems that have been hitherto unanswerable by models of knowledge that restrict their focus to the individual. Specifically, I look closely at the problem of solipsism and examine whether pragmatists have the resources for responding to this problem successfully. It is my hope that by undertaking this project we will obtain a clearer picture of pragmatic epistemology and some of the strengths in following pragmatists in making the turn to community. / Master of Arts

It is the purpose of this thesis to show that pragmatic philosophy is in operation in the schools of today by giving evidences of living experiences.

It is the purpose of this thesis to study the development of some moral concepts in American life.

The problem of this thesis is to show that a humanistic, pragmatic, and instrumental concept of God would help man in his life, at the present stage of development in the western world, more than an authoritarian or absolute concept. This thesis endeavors to show that the confusion and instability in the moral and religious life is caused by a great need of change of attitude and beliefs towards the concept of God and religion.

Demokrati har under en lång tid varit en central aspekt i vårt samhälle. Medborgare ska vara med och påverka i de beslut som berör dem för att motverka att ett förtryck uppstår. Mängder av diskussioner har förts och forskning har genomförts på området och det är en fråga som ständigt diskuteras i den samhälleliga debatten. Ett viktigt led i demokrati handlar om utbildning. För att säkerställa att ett demokratiskt samhälle upprätthålls behöver vi förbereda våra unga medborgare för att verka i ett demokratiskt samhälle, men vilka värden och principer ett demokratiskt samhälle inrymmer ses ofta på olika sätt. Den här studien syftar till att öka förståelsen för hur undervisande mellanstadielärare förhåller sig till demokrati, vilka föreställningar har de om begreppet, demokratisk kompetens och vilka didaktiska val som framgångsrika i strävan att fostra demokratiska medborgare. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fem mellanstadielärare i norra Sverige och efterföljande tematisk analys framträder begreppet som innehållsrikt, vilket påverkar praktiken av begreppet då vissa bitar riskerar att falla bort. En undervisning som ideal är holistiskt som består av autentiska element, där eleverna utvecklar kunskaper om begreppet, reflekterar, argumenterar och samtalar för att utvecklas till demokratiska medborgare

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This study attempts to resolve the question of Defoe's sincerity through examination of his life, his journalistic writings, and his major works or imagination.

This dissertation examines the techniques and themes of William Burroughs by placing him in the American Pragmatist tradition. Chapter One presents a pragmatic critical approach to literature based on Richard Rorty and John Dewey, focusing on the primacy of narration over argumentation, redescription and dialectic, the importance of texts as experiences, the end-products of textual experiences, and the role of critic as guide to experience rather than judge. Chapter Two uses this pragmatic critical lens to focus on the writing techniques of William Burroughs as a part of the American Pragmatist tradition, with most of the focus on his controversial cut-up technique. Burroughs is a writer who upsets many of the traditional expectations of the literary writing community, just as Rorty challenges the conventions of the philosophical discourse community. Chapter Three places Burroughs within a liberal democratic tradition with respect to Rorty and John Stuart Mill. Burroughs is a champion of individual liberty; this chapter shows how Burroughs' works are meant to edify readers about the social, political, biological, and technological systems which work to control individuals and limit their liberties and understandings. The chapter also shows how Burroughs' works help liberate readers from all control systems, and examines the alternative societies he envisions which work to uphold, rather than subvert, the freedom of human beings. Chapter Four concludes by suggesting some of the implications of Burroughs' work in literature, society, and politics, and by showing the value and importance of Pragmatism to the study of American literature and culture.

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