Calling Without a Caller: Dewey, Hansen, and the Master Butcher

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Transnational Philosophy, Democratic Practice, and Moral Education: Conceptual Perspectives on Dewey

Abstract

How can a calling exist without a caller? This question challenges the use of the concept in modern education, where the divine source has largely been abandoned. This paper begins by examining John Dewey's secular use of the term and David Hansen's subsequent effort to ground the call to teach in the concept of tradition. Arguing that Hansen's tradition-based response is limited to established practice, this paper analyzes the master butcher Cook Ting to highlight the concept of the "self-forgetting experience," which not only questions the primacy of reflective experience in Dewey's thought but also implies that fostering children's capacity for self-forgetting is a crucial educational goal that prepares them to receive a calling.

Author

• Daoyong Ding, Beijing Normal University