Dewey, Russell, Whitehead: Philosophers as Educators

In Philosophers as Educators Brian Patrick Hendley argues that philosophers of education should reject their preoccupation with defining terms and analyzing concepts and embrace the philosophical task of constructing general theories of education. Hendley discusses in detail the educational philosophies of John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, and Alfred North Whitehead. He sees in these men excellent role models that contemporary philosophers might well follow. Hendley believes that, like these mentors, philosophers should take a more active, practical role in education. Dewey and Russell ran their own schools, and Whitehead served as a university administrator and as a member of many committees created to study education.