John Dewey (1859-1952), an American pragmatist philosopher, who placed experience as a central axis in the construction of thought and democracy, had a very great influence in the first half of the 20th Century, in politics, psychology, philosophy, pedagogy (Célestin Freinet, for example, claimed to be inspired by Dewey’s thought). Then it was forgotten, seen as too optimistic.
John Dewey’s thought has been back in the spotlight since the end of the 2000s. In my opinion, it is a precious tool to accompany the implementation of efficient human cooperation systems: in his book “The Public and its Problems” (1927), he postulates that no political system can function if it is not capable of questioning itself in depth as experiences are made. In his book “Art as experience” (1934), he argues that art is first and always a lived, shared experience, and not an external and superior object.
The work of art is generally identified with the building, book, painting or statue whose existence is on the fringes of human experience. Since the true work of art is in fact composed of the actions and effects of that product on experience, this identification does not promote understanding.
John Dewey is inspiring because, in contrast to the quest for “good principles”, his thinking supports the legitimacy of concrete and agile methods of experimentation, which seem to me to be the most suitable for actions, especially cultural ones, in our uncertain and constantly changing world, particularly due to digital upheavals and ecological changes.