Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology - used book

John Dewey's classic examination of social psychology, framed through theories of moral philosophy, shines as a bold, engrossing and intellectually stimulating work.

At the time Dewey set about composing Human Nature and Conduct, he was already in his sixties. His life had been eventful: a successful teacher and psychologist, Dewey distinguished himself by turning his academic and theoretical capacities into physical results. The reform of America's schools was part of his mission to manifest a dream of an educated population living under a just democracy.

So it was that John Dewey turned to how humanity behaves, beginning with habit. The habits we learn and stick to in our lives, and their cumulative effects of character building, the traditions and culture that develop as a result of repeated habits over time, fascinated the author. Whether ingrained habits could be changed, and how man's instincts play a part in instigating such change, is also discussed.

In the 1920s, in the aftermath of destructive war in Europe and genocide in Armenia, the question of man's nature aroused suspicion and skepticism in many. Yet Dewey remains optimistic in this thesis, reasoning that a well-educated person with good habits and the ability to think critically can play a role in a refined and ultimately moral society. Where religious and cultural codes of morality fail for their excess rigidity, the conduct of man alone could succeed in giving society a workable, moral framework for all.