Abstract
John Dewey and Bertrand Russell visited China at around the same time in 1920. Both profoundly influenced China during the great transition period of this country. This article will focus on the differences between the two great figures that influenced China in the 1920s. This comparison will examine the following five aspects: 1. Deweyanization vs. Russellization; 2. Dewey’s “Populism” vs. Russell’s “Aristocraticism”; 3. Dewey’s “Syntheticalism” vs. Russell’s “Analyticalism”; 4. Dewey’s “Realism” vs. Russell’s “Romanticism”; 5. Dewey’s “Conservatism” vs. Russell’s “Radicalism”. This examination will highlight that, although their visit left indelible impressions among Chinese intellecturals, for the radical Marx–Leninists, any Western philosophy and socio-political theories, including Dewey’s and Russell’s, were prejudicial, outworn, and even counterrevolutionary. Soon “Marxi–Leninization” was gradually substituted for “Deweyanization” and “Russellization.”
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allport, G. M. 1951. “Dewey’s Individual and Social Psychology.” In The Philosophy of John Dewey. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. New York: Tudor.
Berry, T. 1960. “Dewey’s Influence in China.” In John Dewey: His Thought and Influence. Ed. by J. S. J. Blewett. New York: Fordham University Press.
Billington, M. 1995. “The British Role in Creating Maoism.” Executive Intelligence Review 22.46: 16–20.
Blewett, J. S. J., ed. 1960. John Dewey: His Thought and Influence. New York: Fordham University Press.
Brown, H. C. 1944. “A Logician in the Field of Psychology.” The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell. Ed by P. A. Schilpp. Chicago: Northwestern University Press.
Brumbaugh, R. S. 1986. Dewey, Russell, Whitehead: Philosophers as Educators. IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Chan, Wing-tsit. 1956. “Hu Shi and Chinese Philosophy.” Philosophy East and West 6.1: 3–12.
Chen, Duxiu 陳獨秀 1920. “Letter to Russell” Xin Qingnian 新青年 8.4: 35–36.
Chow, Tse-tsung. 1960. The May Fourth Movement: Intellectual Revolution in Modern China. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Clopton, R. H. and T. Ou. 1973. John Dewey Lectures in China, 1919–1920. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Dewey, John. 1920a. Five Lectures of Dewey 杜威五大講演. Beijing: Chenbao She 晨報社.
_____. 1920b. Letters from China and Japan. New York: Dutton.
_____. 1920c. “The Sequel of the Student Revolt.” New Republic 21 (March 3): 380–382.
_____. 1921. “New Culture in China.” Asia (July 21): 581–586.
_____. 1985. “Dewey’s Reply to Russell.” In Dewey and Russell: An Exchange. Ed. by S. Meyer. New York: Philosophical Library.
Dubs, H. 1938. “Recent Chinese Philosophy.” Journal of Philosophy 35: 345–355.
Feng, Chongyi 馮崇義. 1996. Russell and China 羅素與中國. Beijing 北京: Sanlian Shudian 三聯書店.
Feng, Youlan 馮友蘭. 1960. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. New York: Macmillan.
Grieder, J. 1970. H u Shih and the Chinese Renaissance: Liberalism in Chinese Evolution, 1917–1937. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Hu, Shi 1922. Collected Essays 胡適文存. Beijing 北京: Beijing Daxue Chubanshe 北京大學出版社.
_____. 1934. The Chinese Renaissance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
_____. 1962. “John Dewey in China.” In Philosophy and Culture East and West. Ed. by Charles Moore. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Hughes, E. R. 1938. The Invasion of China by the Western World. New York: Macmillan.
Lin, Yusheng. 1979. The Crisis of Chinese Consciousness. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Liu, Fangtong 劉放桐. 1990. Modern Western Philosophy. Beijing 北京: Renming Chubanshe 人民出版社.
Mao, Zedong (Mao Tsetung). 毛澤東 1921. “A letter.” In Letters of Members of Xin Min Xue Hui 新民學會通訊錄, volume 3. Beijing: People’s Press.
_____. 1949. “People’s Democratic Dictatorship 人民民主專政.” In The Selected Works of Mao Zedong (One-volume Edition). Beijing 北京: Renmin Chubanshe 人民出版社.
McDermott, J. J. 1973. The Philosophy of John Dewey. New York: Capricorn Books.
Michael, F. H. and G. E. Taylor. 1975. The Far East in the Modern World. Fort Worth: Dryden.
Piatt, D. A. 1951. “Dewey’s Logical Theory.” In The Philosophy of John Dewey. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. New York: Tudor.
Randall, J. H. 1951. “Dewey’s Interpretation of the History of Philosophy.” In The Philosophy of John Dewey. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. New York: Tudor.
Reichenbach, H. 1951. “Dewey’s theory of Science.” In The Philosophy of John Dewey. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. New York: Tudor.
Russell, B. 1920. “Bolshevik Thought.” Shanghai: Minguo Ribao 民國日報. November 29.
_____. 1922. The Problems of China. New York: Century.
_____. (with Dora Russell). 1923. The Prospects of Industrial Civilization. London: Allen & Unwin.
_____. 1944. “My Mental Development.” In The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. Chicago: Northwestern University.
_____. 1968. The Autobiography. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
_____. 1985. “Russell’s Reply to Russell.” In Dewey and Russell: An Exchange. Ed. by S. Meyer. New York: Philosophical Library.
_____. 2004. China’s Road to Freedom: Russell’s Lectures in China 中國到自由之路—羅素在華講演錄. Beijing 北京: Beijing Daxue Chubanshe 北京大學出版社.
Savery, W. 1951. “The Significance of John Dewey’s Philosophy.” In The Philosophy of John Dewey. Ed. by P. A. Schilpp. New York: Tudor.
Schilpp, P. A. ed. 1944. The Philosophy of Bertrand Russell. Chicago: Northwestern University Press.
_____, ed. 1951.The Philosophy of John Dewey. New York: Tudor Publishing Company.
Schwartz, B. I. 1972. Reflection on the May Fourth Movement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
_____. 1979. Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Spence, J. D. 1991. The Search for Modern China. New York: Norton.
Sun, Fuyuan 孫伏園. 1921. “Dr. Dewey Departed Today.” C hen Bao 晨報, July 11.
Wang, Ruoshui 王若水. 1954. “To Eliminate the Pernicious Influence of Hu Shi’s Reactionary Philosophy 肅清胡適反動哲學的遺毒.” People’s Daily, November 7.
Yang, Duanliu 楊端六. 1920. “A Talk with Russell.” Xin Qingnian 8–4 (December 1): 58–60.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zijiang, D. A Comparison of Dewey’s and Russell’s Influences on China. Dao 6, 149–165 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-007-9009-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11712-007-9009-x