John Dewey's Experience & Nature: A Centennial Celebration

As 2025 marks the centennial of the publication of John Dewey’s monumental work, Experience and Nature, we are excited to announce a conference to celebrate this anniversary at the Center for Dewey Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Dewey is one of the most well-known philosophers, educators, and public intellectuals in American history, and recognition of his significance is on the rise. Dewey’s Experience and Nature provides the definitive statement of Dewey’s “empirical naturalism” (or “naturalistic humanism”), a metaphysical approach that is pro-science without being overly scientistic, undermines centuries of philosophical question-begging, and offers an alternative to theories that set humans against nature, society, and, ultimately, themselves. The work focuses on philosophical method, the metaphysics of nature, and the philosophy of mind; it also situates Dewey’s theories of knowledge, meaning, art, and value within its naturalist-humanist metaphysics. Though long an object of study among Dewey scholars, the book’s significance for contemporary thought in a variety of fields remains underappreciated. Experience and Nature has much to offer contemporary discussions in philosophy, history, aesthetic theory, psychology, and anthropology. This conference will bring together Dewey scholars and other contemporary thinkers both inspired by Dewey and working on relevant topics in Dewey’s spirit.

Funding provided by the American Philosophical Association.