Introduction to Part III

The chapters in Part III explore contemporary ethical issues inspired by the framework Dewey offers in Human Nature and Conduct . Dewey’s framework is an alternative to the dominant paradigm for investigating concrete moral problems known as “applied” ethics. The final two chapters connect Dewey’s ethics and moral psychology in Human Nature and Conduct to current issues in the renewal of religion. This introduction provides a historical and conceptual context for Dewey’s approach to moral problems, tracing the rise of applied ethics as a field and explaining why Dewey’s model of moral inquiry, despite its practical orientation, has been largely absent from its development. It also shows how a Deweyan approach to ethical problems is not merely an alternative to applied ethics but a fundamental rethinking of how concrete problem-focused ethical inquiry should be conducted.