Communication and inquiry: John Dewey on the role of language in intelligence

Abstract

In this thesis I examine John Dewey's discussion of the natural bases of inquiry---his attempt to show how intelligent behaviour is continuous with, and a special case of, organic behaviour more generally conceived. I argue that as "the tool of tools", he takes language to be a crucial element in intelligence as it enables an organism to exert control over the formation of its habits through inquiry (EN: 134). For behaviour to be intelligent, he thinks, not only requires an organism to exert control over its habit formation but also requires that an organism exercise control over its behaviour using the best means available. The scientific method of forming beliefs, he claims, provides the best available basis for intelligent action. It is for this reason that Dewey takes scientific inquiries, in particular, to be exemplary of inquiry and why he identifies the scientific method as method of intelligence.