Beyond Classical Cognitivism and Behaviorism: Wittgenstein and Dewey Revisited

• In Event: Curriculum and Communication: Dewey’s Influence on Our Professional Lives

Abstract

The cognitive revolution in psychology is long over. It has become the new educational establishment. The revolution began as a rebellion against behaviorism. Many consider Chomsky’s 1959 review of Skinner’s Verbal Behavior as the Bunker Hill of the cognitive revolution. However, a great deal of human learning involves classical Pavlovian and Skinnerian conditioning, which has, for instance, been especially successful in the treatment of autism. For decades, philosophers of education have ignored behaviorism. Surprising, however, two of the major western philosophers of the last century were behaviorists that did important work on the philosophy of language. Reflecting on the many similarities between Ludwig Wittgenstein and John Dewey will allow us to get beyond classical cognitivism and behaviorism.

Authors

• Jim Garrison, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Leaf O. Ostman