Good Character

: In this chapter, Braun explains John Dewey’s account in Human Nature and Conduct (1922) of character as a dynamic process of growth and readjustment rather than a fixed set of traits. For Dewey, character results from the interpenetration of habits. Dewey defines good conduct as the capacity to continually adapt one’s habits to changing circumstances, integrating intelligence, emotion, and action. Dewey rejects static virtues, framing them instead as working adaptations. Good character emerges through flexible coordination of habits, fostering responsiveness to new moral challenges. Dewey’s Burglar Example illustrates this idea, showing the contrast between the rigid, specialized habits of criminals and the rich, adaptive habits shaped by democratic engagement. Drawing comparisons with Aristotle’s Unity of the Virtues and Humboldt’s Bildung , Braun highlights Dewey’s distinct contribution – his experimental approach to character formation. Rather than inheriting or imposing virtues, Dewey sees self-creation as an ongoing, improvisational process. Braun concludes that Dewey’s ethical vision challenges rigid moral frameworks, advocating for adaptability, openness, and moral experimentation as essential to ethical growth in an ever-changing social world.