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experiencing of “perplexity,” is the birthplace of “reflective
thinking.” As he professes, “[T]he origin of thinking is some
perplexity, confusion, or doubt” (12). For Dewey, that
“perplexity, confusion, or doubt” is the very “catalyst” of
education.
But that “forked road situation” suggests something else
about Dewey’s dialectic, what is very well its raison d’etre.
The traveler standing before Dewey’s “forked road” must continue
on his way. He cannot simply stand there and “reflect.” He
cannot simply stand there and “reflect” simply to “reflect.”
Simply put, this “reflective thinking” must be done for
something. He must undertake that dialectical experiment that
breeds “reflective thought” in order to travel unto whatever his
destination may be. To such an end, a judgment or a decision
must be brought forth. A commitment must be made. For John
Dewey, this is the true purpose of education. “Reflective
thought” and an education that would foster and nurture it must
be “good for something” because we must be “good for something.”
For Dewey, that “something” is the progress and prosperity of
society – of the progress and prosperity of those among us in
society. Such a purpose is at the heart of his philosophy of
“morals” and the training of those “morals” is the purpose of
education. This is the essential meaning of Dewey’s 1916 text,
Democracy and Education. It begins with his philosophy of
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