Educology

Contributing Paper 3.1 in
Experiential Philosophy of Educology

(A paper presented at the International Scientific Conference held on October 19-20, 2005 at Vilnius Pedagogical University themed as Development of Educational Paradigms: Theory and Practice on Thursday, October 20, 2005 as the 12:15 p.m. Plenary Session Address by James E. Fisher, President Educology Research Associates/USA (ERA/USA))

This paper accounts for the inter- and trans-active inter-involvement of signs, and their meaning in reference to their signification function in communication and inquiry, within the trans-ductivity of signals and their information function in communication and inquiry, whereas, the practice of inquiry is conceived as the practice of the knowing process in which organically inheres the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences as this pattern serves as a model for the conduct of the pattern of educative experiences organically inhering in the practice of the educational process.

The Significance of Educology in Post-Secondary Educational Affairs of Life in 21st Century Developing Democracies in the World
(From an Experiential Philosophy of Educology Perspective)

James E. Fisher, Ed.D., President of ERA/USA and Associate Professor of Philosophy at South University-Columbia, SC.

The meaning of the word ‘educology’ focuses attention on the existence of a specific kind of knowledge, i.e. the existence of knowledge about education. Comprehending the meaning of the word ‘educology’ begs Question 1, i.e. “What is educology?”
Question 1, combined with the title of this paper, then, suggests Question 2, i.e. “What is the significance of educology in post-secondary educational affairs of life in 21^st century developing democracies in the world?”

What follows is a sketch, in narrative outline form, containing brief answers to these two questions.

Question 1: What is educology?

Question 1, from the perspective of the Institute of History and Philosophy of Educology for Developing Democracies in the World (the Institute), an initiative of Educology Research Associates/USA (ERA/USA), underpins the privation (lack) of comprehension of what educology is as a condition involved in an indeterminate situation that exists: (1) in post-secondary education institutions (colleges and universities), as knowledge producing and teaching institutions, and; (2) in pre-secondary and secondary education institutions, as knowledge using and teaching institutions in; (3) home, school, and community institutions in; (4) developing democracies in the world.

Depreciation of Educology in Universities

This indeterminate situation manifests itself, especially, in post-secondary education institutions in circumstances in which professors, for example, in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and history, because of their privation (lack) of comprehension of what educology is, depreciate educology and professors in educology. ¹
From an experiential philosophy of educology perspective, as being developed in the Institute, Question 1: “What is educology?” must be addressed in experiential philosophical consideration of: (1) educology’s object; (2) educology’s logic; (3) educology’s methodology; (4) educology’s psychology, and; (5) educology’s problematics.

A brief and introductory account of each of these considerations follows.

Educology’s Object
The Educational Process as Educology’s Object

To comprehend educology’s object, as conceived in the Institute, requires one to discern between the references of two meanings of the word ‘education’, i.e: (1) the meaning of the word ‘education’ referring to the process involving the regions of (i) someone meeting to manage (ii) someone to be taught (iii) something for the purpose of studying and learning the something in (iv) some home, school, or community situation, wherein; (i) is commonly called the region of “teachers,” (ii) is commonly called the region of “students,” (iii) is commonly called the region of “curricula,” and (iv) is commonly called the region of “institutions,” and; (2) the meaning of the word ‘education’ referring to knowledge about the regions in this process, whereby, the word ‘educology’ should be used in place of the word ‘education’. ²
Educology’s object, as conceived in the Institute, is formed by the process involving the four regions of (i) teachers meeting, managing, and teaching, (ii) students studying for learning (iii) curricula in (iv) home, school, or community institutions, whereby, educational processes are conducted with these regions effected by democratic and anti-democratic forms of governments and by cultural and physical forms of environments.

Educology’s object, as the educational process: (1) is formed by the above four regions of teachers, students, curriculum, and institutions; (2) involves the above five activities of meeting, managing, teaching, studying, and learning, and also; (3) involves effects on these four regions and five activities as caused, for example, by (i) the form of government controlling the educational process and (ii) the physical and cultural environments in which the educational process is conducted. ³
Educology’s object, from the Institute’s perspective, then: (1) is formed by the highly complex educational process as constituted by a series of meeting-managing-teaching-studying-learning activities involving the regions of teachers, students, curricula, and institutions, and, as it; (2) is influenced by the physical, cultural, and governmental effects on this thusly constituted highly complex process.

Educative Experiences Inhering in the
Highly Complex Educational Process

From the Institute’s perspective, it is necessary to consider how well or ill educative experiences inherently exist in the highly complex educational process, whereby, the meaning of the words ‘educative experiences’, as entailed by the meaning of the words ‘reflective thinking experiences’, is borrowed from John Dewey’s work, specifically, his book Education and Experience. In this book, Dewey grounds the meanings of ‘reflective thinking experiences’ and ‘educative experiences’ in a theory of experience that he developed, for example, specifically, in his books Experience and Nature and Art as Experience. Conduct and reflective thinking and educative experiences are accounted for, in general, in his book Human Nature and Conduct, and, in specific, in his book Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, a logic foreseen in his book How We Think and educologically applied in his book Democracy and Education.

According to Dewey’s theory of experience, there is an “organic connection between education and . . . experience. . .” (pg. 25 EE), whereby, the meaning of the word ‘education’ is used to refer to the highly complex educational process, with educative experiences existing organically inherent in it, forming the object of educological knowledge. ⁴

Again, with this reference of the meaning of the word ‘education’, Dewey says that:

“The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not     mean that all experiences are
genuinely or equally educative. Experience and education cannot be directly equated to each other. For some experiences are mis-educative.” ⁵

Educative Experiences Contrasted with
Mis-educative Experiences

Dewey, afterwards, then, accounts for mis-educative experiences, as they exist organically inherent in the highly complex educational process, as ones that have the effect of “arresting or distorting the growth of further experience,” e.g. (1) mis-educative experiences are experiences that “engender callousness” by producing “lack of sensitivity and of responsiveness,” hence, the possibilities “of having richer experience in the future are restricted” whereby, however, richer future experiences are unrestricted in educative experiences; (2) mis-educative experiences are experiences that “increase a person’s automatic skill in a particular direction and yet tend to land him in a groove or rut; the effect again” being “to narrow the field of further experience,” whereby, however, the field of further experiences is widened in educative experiences; (3) mis-educative experiences are experiences that are “immediately enjoyable and yet promote the formation of a slack and careless attitude; this attitude then operates to modify the quality of subsequent experiences so as to prevent a person from getting out of them what they have to give,” whereby, however, educative experiences modify the quality of subsequent experiences so as to enhance a person getting out of them what they have to give; (4) mis-educative experiences are experiences that are “so disconnected from one another that, while each is agreeable or even exciting in itself, they are not linked cumulatively to one another,” hence, “energy is then dissipated and a person becomes scatterbrained,” whereby, however, educative experiences are ones that organize and dispense energy by which persons control themselves and do not become scatterbrained, and; (5) mis-educative experiences are experiences that are “lively, vivid, and ‘interesting,’” as ones that form “dispersive, disintegrated, centrifugal habits,” with the “consequences of formation of such habits” being the “inability to control future experiences,” in that these experiences are “taken, either by way of enjoyment or of discontent and revolt, just as they come,” therefore, “under such circumstances, it is idle to talk” about mis-educative experiences leading to growth in “self control” of reflective thinking experiences, whereas, however, it is not idle to talk about educative experiences leading to growth in self control of reflective thinking experiences. ⁶

Educative Experiences as Modeled by
Reflective Thinking Experiences

At the Institute, it is taken: (1) that educative experiences (a) exist as experiences organically inherent in the educational process leading to, i.e. producing, growth in self control of reflective thinking experiences, and (b) are modeled after reflective thinking experiences, (c) existing as experiences organically inherent in the knowing process leading to, i.e. producing, knowledge about something, and; (2) that educative experiences (a) exist organically inherent in the educational process, producing growth in self control of reflective thinking experiences, and (b) are experiences that are necessarily involved in the formation of the object of educological knowledge and that (3) reflective thinking experiences, (a) exist organically inherent in the knowing process, producing knowledge about something, and (b) are experiences that are necessarily involved in the formation of the object of philosophical knowledge.

Educology’s Logic

Educology’s logic for producing knowledge about educology’s object, i.e. about the educational process, as educative experiences exists organically inherent in it: (1) is the logic of the knowing process, as reflective thinking experiences exist organically inherent in it, and; (2) is the object of philosophical knowledge, from an experiential philosophy of logic perspective as developed by Dewey in his book Logic: The Theory of Inquiry. About the relationship between the reflective thinking experience, termed ‘reflective thought’, as it exists organically inherent in the knowing process, and related to inquiry, termed ‘objective inquiry’, Dewey says, when alluding to previous statements he has made about this relationship, that:


“. . . express identification of reflective thought with objective inquiry makes possible, I think, a mode of statement less open to misapprehension than were the previous ones.” ⁷

Dewey, then, in this statement, identifies the meaning of the words ‘reflective thinking experience’ with the meaning of the word ‘inquiry’ and then later in this book says:

“It would have been possible to . . . use the term ‘reflective thought’ where the word ‘inquiry’ has been used.” ⁸

However, imagining the consequence of using the meaning of the term ‘reflective thought’ for the meaning of the word ‘inquiry’, he says:

“. . . it is certain that some readers would have supposed that ‘reflective thought’designated something already sufficiently known so that ‘inquiry’ was equated to a preexisting definition of thought.” ⁹
The point Dewey is making is that the reflective thinking experience, as it exists organically inherent in the knowing process, whether referred to by the meaning of the words ‘inquiry’, ‘reflective thought’, or ‘thought’, is conducted in accord to a pattern, whereby, he refers to this pattern by the meaning of the word ‘logic’ and the words ‘theory of inquiry’, hence, the reflective thinking experience existing organically inherent in the knowing process is conducted in accord with a logic, i.e. a pattern, structure, or theory, of inquiry.

About inquiry and its logic, pattern, structure, or theory, Dewey says:

“. . . that inquiry, in spite of its diverse subjects to which it applies, and the consequent diversity of its special techniques has a common structure or pattern: that this common structure is applied both in common sense and science.” ¹⁰

Dewey, then, provides an experientially oriented philosophical account of this logic, pattern, structure, or theory applicable “both in common sense and science” in chapters named “Pattern of Inquiry” and “Common Sense and Scientific Inquiry.” About this pattern, logic, structure, or theory of inquiry, i.e. of reflective thinking experiences existing organically inherent in common sense and scientific knowing process, he says:

“The search for the pattern of inquiry is, accordingly, not one instituted in the dark or at large. It is checked and controlled by knowledge of the kinds of inquiry that have and that have not worked; methods which, as was pointed out earlier, can be so compared as to yield reasoned or rational conclusions.” ¹¹

And, about the existence of reflective thinking experiences existing organically inherent in the knowing process, as the existence of inquiries, Dewey says:

“The existence of inquiries is not a matter of doubt. They enter into every area of life and into every aspect of every area. In everyday living, men examine; they turns things over intellectually; they infer and judge as ‘naturally’ as they reap            and sow, produce and exchange commodities. As a mode of conduct, inquiry is    as accessible to objective study as are these other modes of behavior. Because of the intimate and decisive way in which inquiry and its conclusions enter into the management of all affairs of life, no study of the latter is adequate save as it is noted how they are affected by the methods and instruments of inquiry. . . “ ¹²

One of the “affairs of life” that are managed with reflective thinking experiences and their conclusions, as they exist organically inherent in the knowing process, i.e. with “inquiry and its conclusions” entering into its management is the agricultural affairs of life involved in the farming process, about which Dewey says:

“Everybody knows that today there are in vogue methods of farming generally followed in the past which compare very unfavorably in their results with those obtained by practices that have already been introduced and tested. When an expert tells a farmer he should do thus and so, he is not setting up for a bad farmer an ideal drawn from the blue. He is instructing him in methods that have been tried and that have proved successful in procuring results.” ¹³
Using the meaning of the word ‘agricologist’ to refer to the “expert” instructing the farmer as to successful methods involved in the nurturing experiences of raising crops and animals and caring for the soil as experiences organically inhere in the farming process, then: (1) then these crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences, as they organically inhere in the farming process, form the object of “agricological” knowledge, and; (2) the meaning of the word ‘agricology’ refers to knowledge about this object, i.e. knowledge that is produced through the conduct of the pattern, logic, structure, or theory of inquiry, whereas; (3) inquiry is the reflective thinking experience existing organically inherent in the knowing process, in this case existing organically inherent in the agricological knowing process.

The Suppositions of an Agronomist and a Farmer

At this point, attention can be called to a supposition that the “agricologist” is a person, (1) who has conducted appropriate educative experiences existing organically inherent in the educational process in his/her home, school, and/or community educational institutions, and; (2) who, through the conduct of these educative experiences, has learned to conduct the logic of reflective thinking experiences (i) as this logic exists organically inherent in the knowing process, i.e. in the inquiry process, and (ii) as this logic is incorporated by appropriate scientific methods of agricological knowing, i.e. for agricological scientific inquiry, about the crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhering in the farming process.

This supposition, thusly, of the: (1) agricologist as a person who has learned to conduct the logic of reflective thinking experiences as (i) the logic existing organically inherent in the knowing process, i.e. inquiry process, and (ii) the logic that is occupationally incorporated by appropriate methods for conducting the agricologically oriented scientific inquiry (knowing) process about the crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhering in the farming process is a supposition that compares and contrasts with the supposition of the; (2) farmer as a person who has learned to conduct the logic of reflective thinking experiences as (i) the logic existing organically inherent in knowing process, i.e. inquiry process, and (ii) the logic that is occupationally incorporated with appropriate methods for conducting agricological oriented common sense inquiry (knowing) process about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhering in the farming process.

Processes and Affairs of Life: Whereas, processes are organizations of events with a beginning and end, existing as affairs of life, these suppositions, then, involve two persons, an agricologist and a farmer: (1) both of whom are participating in knowing and farming processes, i.e. participating in knowing and farming affairs of life, and; (2) both of whom have participated in educational processes, i.e. educational affairs of life, whereas; (3) each of these affairs of life have something organically inhering in them; (i) in educational affairs of life, educative experiences organically inhere, (ii) in farming affairs of life, crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhere, and, (iii) in knowing affairs of life, reflective thinking experiences organically inhere.

And, as Dewey has said, reflective thinking experiences, organically inhering in knowing processes (knowing affairs of life), i.e. in inquiry processes (inquiry affairs of life), are experiences that “enter into every area of life and into every aspect of every area.” In other words: (1) knowing affairs of life, into which reflective thinking experiences organically inhere, are affairs of life that enter into; (2) farming affairs of life, into which crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhere, and into; (3) educational affairs of life, into which educative experiences organically inhere.

Comparison: In this supposition, the agricologist and farmer compare in that they both have learned to conduct the logic of reflective thinking experiences as this logic exists organically inherent in the knowing process, as affairs of life involving methods for producing knowledge about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inhering in the farming process, as an affair of life, i.e. they both have learned to conduct the logic of the inquiry process, as the logic for producing knowledge, in their interest, as it is occupied in crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences, organically inhering in the farming process, as an affair of life.

Contrast: They contrast, however, in that: (1) for the agricologist, (i) the logic of the inquiry process has been learned to be conducted (ii) in a scientifically oriented knowing process, as an affair of life, (iii) to produce scientific knowledge about the of the farming process, as an affair of life, (iv) from an interest occupied with methods involved in scientific knowing (inquiry), whereas; (2) for the farmer, (i) the logic of the inquiry process has been learned to be conducted (ii) in a common sensually oriented knowing process, as an affair of life, (iii) to produce common sense knowledge about the agricological features as they exist organically and inherently in the farming process, as an affair of life, (iv) from an interest occupied with methods involved in common sense knowing (inquiry).

Logic, Methods, and Object of Agricology’s Scientific and
Common Sense Knowing (Inquiry) Processes as Affairs
of Life and the Object of Philosophical Knowing

The logic, i.e. pattern, structure, theory, of reflective thinking experiences, then: (1) as the logic that exists organically inherent, specifically, in agricology’s knowing (inquiry) process as a process conducted for producing knowledge about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences that organically inhere in the farming process, as an affair of life and as the object of agricology’s knowing process; (2) is occupationally incorporated by methods for producing knowledge; (i) by the agricologist, as the “expert” telling the farmer, as a “non-expert” what he should do in farming affairs of life about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences, as the object of agricology’s knowing affair of life, and;.(ii) by the farmer using what the agricologist told him about what he should do in farming affairs of life about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inherent in the farming process as the object knowing affairs of life.

From the perspective of an experiential philosophy of agricology: (1) crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences, as they organically inhere in farming affairs of life, are the object of agricological knowledge, and; (2) the logic of producing agricological knowledge (i) is the logic of reflective thinking experiences as the logic existing organically inherent in knowing affairs of life, (ii) is the object of philosophical knowledge, and (iii) is the logic which is occupationally incorporated by methods, i.e. procedures, techniques, operations, for producing scientific and common sense knowledge about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inherent in the farming process.

Whereas, by supposition: (1) it is the case (i) that the logic (pattern, structure, theory) of reflective thinking experiences exists organically inherent in the conduct of both scientific and common sense knowing (inquiry) affairs of life (as the object of philosophical knowledge) producing scientific and common sense knowledge, specifically, in this suppositional case, about crop, soil, and animal nurturing experiences organically inherent in farming affairs of life (as the object of agricological knowledge), and (ii) that this logic remains constant; (2) it is, also, the case (i) that the methods (procedures, techniques, operations) for conducting scientific and common sense knowing (inquiry) affairs of life (as the object of philosophical knowledge) producing knowledge, specifically, in this suppositional case, about crop, soil, animal nurturing experiences organically inherent in the farming process as the object of agricological knowledge, exist occupationally incorporating this logic (pattern, structure, theory), and (ii) that these methods vary. Logic remains constant in knowing affairs of life, while methods vary in knowing affairs of life and are occupationally incorporated into logic as determined by occupational interests.

Logic, Methods, and Objects of Scientific and Commons Sense
Knowing Processes as General Affairs of Life and as the
Object of Philosophical Knowledge

From the perspective of experiential philosophy of educology, accounting for the scientific and common sense knowing affairs of life, including the knowing affairs of life in the sciences of agricology and educology, as well as, for example, in the sciences of physics, chemistry, biology, history, psychology, sociology, and archeology, and their corresponding technologies, with the above suppositions, then, it follows that: (1) a constant 1ogic (pattern, structure, theory) exists organically inherent in the conduct of scientific and common sense knowing (inquiry) affairs of life (affairs of life as the object of philosophical knowledge) producing knowledge about features of various kinds of specific affairs of life, e.g. farming and educational affairs of life (affairs of life as the object of scientific and common sense knowledge), and; (2) various methods (procedures, techniques, operations) exist occupationally incorporating the constant logic (pattern, structure, theory) of scientific and common sense knowing affairs of life (affairs of life as the object of philosophical knowledge) therefore; (3) objects of scientific and common sense knowledge exist and vary, and; (4) the constant logic (pattern, structure, theory) and various methods (procedures, techniques, operations), as they are involved in affairs of life as objects of philosophical knowledge, exist, but logic and methods are not identical kinds of existences, as they both exist integrated, with logic being integrated by existing organically inherent in and with methods being integrated by existing occupationally incorporated in, the conduct of scientific and common sense knowing (inquiry) affairs of life (affairs of life as the object of philosophical knowledge).

Educology’s Logic and Methodology

With the above suppositions, it follows that: (1) educology's logic is formed as philosophical knowledge about (i) a constant pattern, structure, or theory of reflective thinking experiences (ii) existing organically inherent in the knowing process (inquiry), (iii) as a general affair of life; (2) educology's methodology is formed as philosophical knowledge about (i) various methods, procedures, techniques or operations that (ii) are occupationally incorporated into educology's logic (iii) for conducting scientific and common sense knowing affairs of life (scientific and common sense inquiries) about the educational process, i.e. about educational affairs of life, (iv) as a specific affair of life involving educative and mis-educative experiences existing organically inherent in the affair of life, and; (3) experiential philosophy of educology is philosophical knowledge about (i) logic, as experiential knowledge about a constant pattern, structure, or theory of reflective thinking experiences existing organically and inherently in knowing affairs of life (inquiry affairs of life) and (ii) methods, as experiential knowledge about various procedures, techniques, or operations (iii) for conducting scientific and common sense knowing affairs of life (inquiry affairs of life) that (iv) are occupationally incorporated into the constant pattern, structure, or theory of reflective thinking experiences for (v) producing scientific and common sense educology, i.e. for producing scientific and common sense knowledge about (vi) educational affairs into which educative and mis-educative experiences inherently exist organically.

Educology’s Logic, Methodology, and Psychology

Whereas: (1) educology’s logic is experiential philosophical knowledge about a constant pattern, structure, or theory of reflective thinking experiences organically inhering in the knowing (inquiry) affairs of life, and; (2) educology’s methodology is experiential philosophical knowledge about various methods, procedures, techniques or operations occupationally incorporated into educology’s logic; (3) educology’s psychology is experiential philosophical knowledge about various habits, attitudes, imagination, choices, and meanings, inter-actively and trans-actively formed when using educology’s methodology.

From the perspective of experiential philosophy of educology: (1) the psychology, (i) for conducting the logic of reflective thinking experiences in knowing (inquiry) affairs of life, as occupationally incorporated (ii) by the methodology for doing scientific educology, is; (2) a different psychology, (i) for conducting the logic of reflective thinking experiences in knowing (inquiry) affairs of life, as occupationally incorporated (ii) by the methodology for doing common sense educology.
Whereas: (1) doing scientific educology involves the psychology of habits, attitudes, imagination, choices, and meanings inter-actively and trans-actively formed in accord with educology’s logic and methodology very strictly guided by clearly formed and known rules for abductive reasoning (rules operative in experimental design), deductive reasoning (rules operative in truth tables), and inductive reasoning (rules operative in statistics) involved in educology’s problematics; (2) doing common sense educology involves the psychology of habits, attitudes, imagination, choices, and meanings, interactively and transactively formed in accord with educology’s logic and methodology less strictly guided by clearly formed and known rules for abductive, deductive, and inductive reasoning involved in educology’s problematics.

Educology’s Logic, Methodology, Psychology, and Problematics

Now, whereas: (1) problematics is knowledge for meeting the challenge of (i) framing problems for plausible solutions while involved in discovering (by abductive reasoning), preserving (by deductive reasoning), and verifying (by inductive reasoning) experiential (empirical) truth about something, hence, of (ii) forming experiential (empirical) truth in knowledge about the something; (2) educology’s problematics is knowledge for meeting the challenge of (i) framing problems while discovering (by abductive reasoning), preserving (by deductive reasoning), and verifying, (by inductive reasoning) experiential truth about educational affairs of life as affairs of life in which educative and mis-educative experiences organically inhere, hence, of (ii) forming experiential (empirical) truth in educological knowledge, i.e. forming experiential (empirical) truth in knowledge about educational affairs of life as a affairs of life in which educative and mis-educative experiences organically inhere.

The challenge involved in educology’s problematics, in its association with educology’s logic, methodology, and psychology, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective at the Institute, then, is that of framing problems for plausible solutions that follow from educology’s most general problem, as formed in the question “How can educative experiences be increased and mis-educative experiences be decreased as they organically inhere in educational affairs of life conducted in home, school, and community institutions in developing democracies in the world?”

Question 2: “What is the Significance of Educology in Post-Secondary Educational Affairs of Life in 21^st Century Developing Democracies in the World?”

From the perspective of experiential philosophy of educology, as it is being developed in the Institute, the critically important aim of educational affairs of life, as conducted in post-secondary educational institutions (universities) in 21^st century developing democracies in the world, is: (1) to overcome the condition of the privation (lack) of comprehension of what educology is, i.e. to overcome the condition of the privation (lack) of comprehension of what educology‘s object, logic, methodology, psychology, and problematics are, hence; (2) to create conditions in which educology and professors of educology are appreciated.

To realize this aim is to realize the experiential fact that to comprehend what educology is is to comprehend educology’ object, logic, methodology, psychology, and problematics: (1) as they exist integrated into a pattern, structure, theory of reflective thinking experiences that organically inhere in knowing affairs of life; (2) as they exist as objects of philosophical knowledge, and; (3) as they exist as models for educative experiences that organically inhere in educational affairs of life.

Notes

1. See www.era-usa.net. See the Landing Page.

2. For an extended account of these meanings of the word ‘education’, see “The Domain of Educology,” James E. Fisher in the International Journal of Educology 1996, Volume 10, Number 1, pages 66-143

3. For an account of the levels of the educational process, in accord with the developments of humans through the childhood to adult ages, see “The Challenge of Establishing a Common Set of Terms for Discourse Inquiry and Research in Educational Science,” Kestutis Pukelis and Izabela Savickiene, Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania in International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, Nos. 1&2, pgs. 87-105 as published in IJEFile@www.msnusers.com, Documents, cd-IJE 2003, 04 IJE 2003 V17 N1-2 The Challenge of Establishing, K Puk….pdf.

4. According to the history of educology, as it is developed at this time in the Institute, the word ‘educology’ was invented in 1951 in the USA by Professor Lowery W. Harding of Ohio State University and Dewey died in 1952 unaware of the word and its meaning used to refer to knowledge about the educational process with educative experiences integrated into this highly complex process.

5. Experience and Education: John Dewey, Collier Books, New York, Copyright, 1938, Ninth Printing, 1968, pg 25

6. Experience and Education: pg. 25-26

7. Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, John Dewey, The Later Works, 1925-1953, Volume 12: 1938, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville, Edited by Jo Ann Boydston, pg. 2

8. Logic, pg. 28

9. Logic, pg. 28

10. Logic, pg. 105

11. Logic, pg. 108

12. Logic, pg. 106

13. Logic, pgs. 107-108

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Contributing Paper 3.2 in
Experiential Philosophy of Educology

(A paper presented at the South Atlantic Philosophy of Education Society’s (SAPES) Annual Meeting on October 10^th-11^th, 2008 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia by James E. Fisher.)

This paper accounts for inter-activity and trans-activity, as represented by the use of metaphor, in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the practice of the knowing process, specifically as practiced in the educologically oriented knowing process.

Bridging and Contracting Philosophy and Educology

James E. Fisher, Ed.D., President of ERA/USA and Associate Professor of Philosophy at South University-Columbia, SC.

Abstract

This paper extends the bridging metaphor, as it involves inter-activity in the conduct of reflective thinking experiences, to the contract metaphor, as it involves trans-activity in the conduct of these experiences, in the formation of an experiential philosophy of educology, i.e. in the formation of an experiential philosophy of knowledge about the educational process, as founded in John Dewey’s philosophy of experience. Thusly founded, then, the tertiary quality of educational situations, as psyche experienced through the emotions of, for example, wonder and/or doubt, are taken as indications of problematic situations resolved through these experiences being organically associated with sensory and mind experiences in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences in which inter-actively, trans-actively, and organically inhere the educational process being known through the practice of the educologically oriented knowing process.

Introduction

This paper, as based on the body of my work in experiential philosophy of educology, much of which can be found in the International Journal of Educology (IJE) in EBSCO’s Education Research Complete database, and some of which can be found at www.era-usa.net [i] , accounts for two metaphors which provide suggestive qualities for the philosophy, following John Dewey’s philosophy of experience[ii], that all knowledge is constructed from experience, hence, following the American philosophy of pragmatism, that all knowledge is empirical. These suggestive qualities, organically[iii] existing as mental feelings emotionally experienced, in Dewey’s terms, exist as organic “tertiary qualities of situations”[iv] (pervasive organic qualities of situations), in contrast to the sensory experienced “primary and secondary qualities of organic and inorganic physical objects[v] existing in situations,” whereby, then, they are, also, experienced in organic association (in organization)[vi], imaginatively,[vii]with the human psyche’s experience, and they provide the natural grounding for the organic semiosical existence of the word (symbol) meanings, mind[viii]experienced by the human intellect’s experiences of apprehension and comprehension of word (symbol) meaning, used to compose the paper.[ix] One metaphor is the bridge metaphor, which has a suggestive (tertiary) organic quality, and, for the purpose of the paper, it has such a quality that tends to be supplemented by the suggestive (tertiary) organic quality of the second metaphor, the contract metaphor.

Specifications[x] of Philosophy and Educology from the Experiential Philosophy of Educology Perspective

These two metaphors will be further accounted for, after specifying, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, what philosophy is and what educology is, where:

(1) philosophy is specified to be an account of several inter-related funds of empirical[xi] knowledge claims constructed from the conduct of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the organic and inorganic physical and organic cultural (semiosical) matrices[xii] constituting situations[xiii] in nature, initiated by the psyche experience, the emotions, of the organic existence of the mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt formed into the organic semiosical existence of sentential meaning mind experienced, by the intellect, as, and guided by, tertiarilly qualified general questions;
                (i) about what organically and inorganically exist that can be experienced,
                (ii) about what organically and inorganically exist that is real and that can be experienced,
                (iii) about the organic existence of knowledge that comes from experience,
                (iv) about what is organically and inorganically valuably good that can be experienced,
                (v) about what is organically and inorganically valuably beautiful that can be experienced,
                (vi) about what is organic rationality as organic reflective thinking experiences, and,
                (vii) about what is the best way to organize, organically, humans for experiencing life rationally,

i.e. experiencing life through reflective thinking experiences conducted well[xiv], hence, philosophy is considered to be an account of empirical knowledge claims constructed, respectively, as inter-related funds of:

                (i) experiential philosophical ontology;
                (ii) experiential philosophical metaphysics;
                (iii) experiential philosophical epistemology;
                (iv) experiential philosophical ethics;
                (v) experiential philosophical aesthetics;
                (vi) experiential philosophical logic, and;
                (v) experiential philosophical politics, and, where;

(2) educology, as was philosophy, is specified to be an account of several inter-related funds of empirical knowledge claims constructed from the conduct of reflective thinking experiences, i.e. an account of several funds of empirical knowledge claims constructed from the conduct of reflective thinking experiences, organically inherent in the organic and inorganic physical and organic cultural (semiosical) matrices constituting nature, initiated by the psyche experiences, the emotions, of the organic existence of mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt formed into the organic semiosical existence of sentential meaning mind experienced, by the intellect, as, and guided by, tertiarilly qualified general questions, in contrast to philosophy;

                (i) about what the educational process[xv] organically and actually is that can be experienced,

                (ii) about what the valuable educational process,[xvi] organically, is as a process necessarily involving rationality, [xvii] i.e. as necessarily involving
                organic reflective thinking experiences, modeling educative experiences, conducted well, and,

                (iii) about how to organize, organically, in and through experience, the valuable educational process (the educational process, in which educative experiences are modeled after reflective thinking experiences, that ought to be in existence) out of the actual educational process       (the educational process that is in existence) as involved in the best way to organize, organically, humans for experiencing life rationally, i.e.

(3) a body of empirical knowledge claims constructed, respectively, as inter-related funds of:

                (i) experiential scientific educology (empirical knowledge claims about what the educational process actually is, organically);

                (ii) experiential axiological educology (empirical knowledge claims about what the valuably good educational process is, as involving educative      experiences modeled after reflective thinking experiences, organically), and;

                (iii) experiential praxiological educology (empirical knowledge claims about effectively organizing, organically, the valuably good educational process out of the actual educational process).[xviii]

The Knowing Process within the above Specifications of Philosophy and Educology from the Experiential Philosophy of Educology Perspective

Both, philosophy and educology, according to the above specifications, from the perspective of experiential philosophy of educology, are accounts of constructions of inter-related funds of empirical knowledge claims about something (in the account of philosophy the something is existence, reality, knowledge, the good, the beautiful, the rational, as reflective thinking experiences, and the best way to organize humans to be rational, i.e. the best way to organically organize humans so that they conduct reflective thinking experiences, well, and, in the account of educology the something is the educational process as it actually is, as it, valuatively, ought to be, as it should effectively be practiced to make the “ought” out of the “is,” and as it is involved in the best way to organically organize humans to be rational), whereby, the constructions of empirical knowledge claims about something, themselves, are products of humans conducting reflective thinking experiences, well, hence, humans being rational, as this human conduct, as rational conduct, organically inheres in the practice of the knowing process:

(1) as the practice of the inquiry process[xix] initiated by the psyche experience of the emotions of the organic existence of mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt, i.e. initiated by psyche experience of the organic existence of the tertiary quality (pervasive quality) organically involved in the:

(i) sensory experiences of organic and inorganic physical existence engaging inter-actions[xx] with the organic and inorganic physical matrix that conditions the organic and inorganic physical circumstances contributing to the constitution of situations in nature, and,

(ii) mind experiences of the intellect’s apprehension and comprehension of the organic semiosical existence of symbol, iconic, and indexical[xxi] meanings engaged in trans-actions[xxii] with the organic cultural (semiosical) matrix that conditions the organic cultural (semiosical) circumstances contributing to the constitution of situations in nature;

(2) as the practice of the inquiry process continuing toward consummation, with the organic involvement;

                (i) of the psyche’s experience of the imagination of the organic existence of mental images, along with the emotions of the organic existence of the mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt;

                (ii) of the mind’s experience of the intellect’s apprehension and comprehension of the organic semiosical existence of symbol, iconic, and indexical meanings, and;

                (iii) of the body’s sensory experience of the organic and inorganic physical existence;

                (iv) in the inter-actions with the organic and inorganic physical matrix and in the trans-actions with the organic cultural (semiosical) matrix of meanings that condition the organic and inorganic physical and organic cultural (semiosical) circumstances constituting situations in nature.

(3) as the practice of the inquiry process being consummated:

                (i) with the organic involvement:

                                (a) of the human psyche’s experience of organic mental existence;

                                (b) of the human mind’s experience of organic semiosical existence;

                                (c) of the human body’s sensory experience of organic and inorganic physical existence;

                                (d) in inter- and trans-activity with the organic and inorganic physical and organic cultural (semiosical) circumstances constituting situations in nature;
                (ii) with the resolution of (with resolving) the psyche’s experience, by the emotions, of the organic existence of the mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt and its organically associated psyche experience, by imagination, of the organic existence of mental images:

                                (a) by the human’s conscious judgment of the resolution being warranted by inductive, abductive, and deductive reasoning[xxiii] with the organic semiosical existence of sententially formed meanings, for assertion;

                                                (aa) from their psyche and sensory experiences, as perceptual experiences[xxiv] of the particulars, and;

                                                (aaa) from their mind experiences, as conceptual experiences of the generals (universals);[xxv]

                                (b) in inter- and trans-activity with the organic and inorganic physical, organic mental, and organic cultural, hence, semiosical, circumstances constituting situations in nature.

The Bridge and Contract Metaphors and the above Specifications of Philosophy and Educology from the Experiential Philosophy of Educology Perspective

The bridge and contract metaphors, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, can be further accounted for by inter-relating the above specifications of philosophy and educology with each other, through the metaphors’ tertiary (suggestive) organic qualities, whereby, the bridge metaphor suggests the inter-relationship being the inter-action of physical existence and this kind of existence being human sensory experienced, and, whereby, the contract metaphor suggests the inter-relationship being the trans-action of semiosical existence (the existence of meaning) and this kind of existence being human mind experienced, whereas, both the sensory and mind experiences, respectively, of physical and semiosical (meaning) existences, are organically associated with psyche experiences, in that,

the sensory and psyche experiences are organically involved in the perceptual experience of, respectively, the existence of physical and mental kinds of, particulars,

and, in that,

the mind experiences are organically involved in the conceptual experience of the existence of a semiosical (meaning) kind of general (universal),

in the conduct of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process producing constructions of empirical knowledge claims about something from the practice of this process being oriented philosophically and educologically.

The point is that the bridge metaphor’s tertiary organic suggestive quality, in a problematic situation in which pervades the psyche experience of the emotion of the existence of the mental feeling of wonder and/or doubt initiating the conduct of reflective thinking experiences about how to specify philosophy and educology, and, how to inter-relate the specifications to each other, tends to direct the psyche’s experience of the imagination of the existence of mental images toward that of a mental image of a physical kind of construction:

(1) such as a bridge, for example, the Brooklyn Bridge, whereby, as a physical construction it is physically stabilized on the basis of being grounded on each side of the East River, on the physical earth of the boroughs of New York and Manhattan, where the river, itself, is a physical thing between these two physical groundings of the bridge on each side of the river, whereby, the bridge provides a means for humans from these two boroughs to physically inter-act “over it” in cars, as physical things, with each other, and, as will considered later;

(2) so that humans can trans-act with and among each other, through the use of the semiosical existence of meanings, sententially forming terms ( word meanings used to refer to specific circumstances) and conditions (circumstances made significant by being referred to by word meaning, i.e. by terms), as necessary features of informal and formal contracts, i.e. sententially forming necessary features of informal and formal understandings and agreements with and among each other in the physical locations of the boroughs.

With the suggestive quality of the bridge metaphor, then,

philosophy, specified as an account of funds of constructions of empirical knowledge claims about existence, reality, knowledge, the good, the beautiful, the rational, as reflective thinking experiences, and the best way to organize humans to be rational, i.e. the best way to organically organize humans so that they conduct reflective thinking experiences, well,

and,

educology, specified as an account of funds of constructions of empirical knowledge claims about the educational process as it actually is, as it valuably ought to be, as it should effectively be practiced to make the valuable ought out of the actual is, and as it is involved in the best way to organically organize humans to be rational,

without,

perceiving the difference between physical, mental, and semiosical (meaning) existences, and, respectively, their sensory, psyche, and mind experiences, as experiences of existences involved in the conduct of reflective thinking experiences practiced in the philosophically and educologically oriented knowing-inquiry processes as engaged in physical and cultural matrices constituting nature,

humans, questing to conceive what philosophy and educology, specifically, are, and what their inter-relationship to each other is, are disposed to:

conceive philosophy and educology to be accounts of funds of physical constructions, perhaps physical behavioral constructions,

and/or

conceive philosophy and educology to be accounts of funds of mental constructions, perhaps mental behavioral constructions,

hence,

disposed to selectively emphasize the bridge metaphor’s perceptual suggestive quality of the inter-activity of mental and/or physical particular objects and/or behavior, and, respectively, their psyche and sensory experiences, when inter-relating philosophy and educology to each other,

therefore,

disposed to inter-relate philosophy and educology as inter-active physical and/or mental constructions, involving, sensory and psyche experiences, respectively, of particular physical and mental existence,

with the consequence of committing, what:

Dewey refers to by the meaning of the words ‘the philosophical fallacy’[xxvi], i.e: with the consequence of committing the fallacy of selectively emphasizing only the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence and/or only the feature of the psyche experience of mental existence in the reflective thinking experiences, conducted well, whereby, being conducted well is conducting the reflective thinking experience, as organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process, through to consummation (completion) of the general pattern of organically involved phases,[xxvii] wherein, as alluded to earlier:

(1) the initiation phase of the pattern is the rationality of the reflective thinking experience being initiated in and by;

(i) the feature of the psyche experience of the existence of the tertiary qualities of the mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt, organically involving;

(ii) the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence, and;

(iii) the feature of the mind experience of the semiosical existence of meaning;

in the knowing-inquiry process, through;

(2) the continuing toward consummation (toward completion) phase of the pattern as the rationality of the reflective thinking experience continuing toward consummation (toward completion), hence, continuing the organic involvement of;

                (i) the feature of the psyche experience of the existence of mental feelings;

                (ii) the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence, and;

                (iii) the feature of the mind experience of the semiosical existence of meaning;

                (iv) especially as the feature of the mind experience organically involves the practice of abductive, deductive, and inductive reasoning;

in the knowing-inquiry process, through to;

(3) the consummation (the completion) phase of the pattern as the rationality of the reflective thinking experience being consummated (being completed) in and by the organic involvement of:

                (i) the feature of the psyche experience;

                (ii) the feature of the sensory experience, and;

                (iii) the feature of the mind experience, respectively;

                (iv) of mental existence, physical existence, and semiosical (meaning) existence, as these experiences are organically involved;

                (v) in the inter-active and trans-active practice of abductive, deductive, and inductive reasoning;

                (vi) within the physical and cultural matrices constituting situations in nature.

By contrast, to avoid the philosophical fallacy:

with the understanding of the feature of the semiosical existence of meaning experienced conceptually (intellectually) as generals (universals) by mind in organic association with the perception of the feature of the physical existence, sensory experienced, and of the feature of the mental existence, psyche experienced, as experiences of particulars, objects and/or behavior, involved in the conduct of reflective thinking experiences practiced in the philosophically and educologically oriented knowing-inquiry process;

the contract metaphor tends to supplement the bridge metaphor by directing the psyche’s experience of imagination toward imagining a mental image of a semiosical (social, cultural) kind of construction:

(1) such as a formalized contract, for example, the formality involved in the social (cultural) contract of the Constitution of the United States of America, whereby, it is a semiosical (social, cultural) construction of a social (cultural) contract, and is semiosically (socially, culturally) stabilized, hence, grounded;

                (i) not on the basis of two physically formed locations at two ends of a bridge on physical earth, for example, in the boroughs of Brooklyn and New York;

                (ii) but on the basis of two semiosically formed (socially, culturally formed) parties involved in the contract, whereby the two parties are the People, as the party of the first part in the contract, and Nature, as the party of the second part in the contract, and, wherein; [xxviii]

(2) the People, in their individualized human conduct of rationality, function as the party conducting the pattern of organic phases of reflective thinking experiences, well, i.e. with the People, in their individual humanity, performing rational conduct, as this conduct organically inheres in the knowing-inquiry process, a process involving;

                (i) the feature of sensory experiences of physical existence,
                (ii) the feature of psyche experiences of mental existence, and,

                (iii) the feature of mind experiences of semiosical (meaning) existence, in their ordinary and professional lives;

(3) by being trans-actively engaged, rationally as humans, hence, naturally, through the cultural (social, semiosical) matrix while simultaneously being inter-actively engaged, rationally as humans, hence, naturally, with the physical (organic and inorganic) matrix, whereby, both the cultural (the People, in their individual humanity, as party of the first part in the contract) and physical matrices constitute Nature (the party of the second part in the contract in which organically inheres the party of the first part), therefore;

(4) by being inter-related through the feature of the semiosical existence of meanings, experienced by mind, sententially forming terms (word meanings used to refer to specific physical and mental circumstances) and conditions (circumstances made significant by being specifically referred to by the semiosical existence of meanings, i.e. by terms), as necessary aspects of this formalized social (semiosical, cultural) contract i.e. sententially forming necessary aspects of formalized understandings and agreements with and among each other, as individual rational humans, i.e. as individuals of the People, living and working in the physical locations of the boroughs;

and, also, the contract metaphor tends to supplement the bridge metaphor by directing the psyche’s experience of imagination toward imagining a mental image of a semiosical, enculturalized, socialized, hence, “cultivated,” (individual) kind of construction:

(1) such as an in-formalized contract, for example, the in-formality involved in the semiosical (social, cultural) contract when humans, as individuals of the People in Nature, are participating in general conversations with each other, as accounted for, for example;

                (i) specifically, in Presumptive Meanings: The Theory of Generalized Conversational Implicature (Language, Speech, and Communication) by Stephen C. Levinson, 2000, and;

                (ii) generally, in Human Nature and Conduct by John Dewey, 1922, [xxix]whereby, then;

(2) People, in their individuality as organically existing, inherently, in Nature, as formalized in the semiosical (social, cultural) contract of the Constitution of the United States of America;

                (i) trans-act, presumptively, in general conversations with each other, as individuals, consciously or unconsciously, within the in-formalized semiosical (social, cultural) existence of a ubiquitous context of meaning, with the right, by contract, to freely conduct the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences, involving;

                                (a) the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence,

                                (b) the feature of the psyche experience of mental existence, and,

                                (c) the feature of the mind experience of semiosical (meaning) existence,

                                 (d) as these features of experience organically inhere in,

                                (e) the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, done well, i.e. done in its complete rational form, and/or done not well, i.e. done in a truncated rational form, even when,

                (ii) inter-acting with each other in and from the physical location of their boroughs, on each side of the river, for example, when driving in the physical existence of their cars, across the physical existence of the bridge, whereby, their practice of knowing to drive, and how to drive, following the “rules of the road,” in which organically inheres, in complete or in truncated form, the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences, involving the sensory, psyche, and mind features of experience, hence, involving their minds intellectually experiencing, through the apprehension and comprehension of the semiosical existence of meaning, as meaning is ascribed to, hence, as the semiosical existence of meaning cultivates, enculturizes, socializes the symbolic, iconic, and indexical physical and mental existence of linguistic and non-lingustic signs representing the rules of the road, hence;
                (iii) inter-relating with each other, as individuals in Nature, through the feature of the semiosical existence of meanings, experienced by mind, sententially forming terms (specific word meanings) and conditions (circumstances made significant by being referred to by specific word meanings, i.e. by terms), as necessary aspects of this in-formalized social (semiosical, cultural) contract i.e. sententially forming necessary aspects of in-formalized understandings and agreements with and among each other, as individual humans of a People, as the party of the first part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract inter- and trans-actively living and working in the physical and cultural matrices constituting Nature, as the party of the second part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract.

Conclusion

The suggestive quality of the contract metaphor supplements the suggestive quality of the bridge metaphor, when inter-relating philosophy and educology, if and only if, each is conceived, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, avoiding the philosophical fallacy, to qualify, respectively:

(1) the perception of the bridge metaphor’s suggestion of the inter-activity of the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence, as a particular kind of existence;

(2) the perception of the contract metaphor’s suggestion of the trans-activity of the feature of the mind experience of semiosical (meaning) existence, as a general (universal) kind of existence, and;

(3) the perception of the features of the sensory and mind experiences being organically associated with the feature of the psyche experience of mental existence, as a particular kind of existence;

(4) as these perceived features, themselves, are conceived to be inter-related by being organically associated, generally (universally);

(i) in the pattern of phases of the reflective thinking experience,

(ii) conducted well (conducted to rational consummation, completion);

(5) as the kind of experience that is organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process, producing empirical knowledge claims about something, and;

(6) practiced by individuals of the People, as party of the first part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract, involved in both philosophy and educology, within the cultural and physical matrices that constitute Nature, as party of the second part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract.

If thusly conceived, then, philosophy and educology, being bridged and contracted, can be perceived as accounts of inter-related funds of empirical knowledge claims about something, as the outcome of the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, whereby:

(1) the practice is the same in that:

                (i) each is guided by the same pattern of phases of the reflective thinking experience, conducted well (conducted to consummation, completion), and;

                (ii) in each, the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences, involving the feature of the mind experience of the semiosical existence of meaning, engages the rationality of the use of abductive, deductive, and inductive reasoning, however;

(2) the practice differs in that, in each, the pattern is initiated by the existence of the tertiary qualities of the mental feelings of wonder and/or doubt indicating different kinds of questions (problems) forming the mental existence of the qualities to semiosically exist in sentential meaning, such that:

                (i) the pattern of conduct is initiated, in philosophy, by general questions (problems) about;

                                (a) what exists that can be experienced,

                                (b) what is reality that can be experienced,

                                (c) what is experiential knowledge,

                                (e) what is the good that can be experienced,

                                (f) what is the beautiful that can be experienced,

                                (g) what is the rational that can be experienced, as reflective thinking experiences, and,

                                (h) what is the best way to organize People, as the party of the first part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract, to be rational that can be experienced, i.e. the best way to organically organize People so that they conduct reflective thinking experiences, well, within the cultural and physical matrices constituting Nature, as the party of the second part of the social (semiosical, cultural) contract, and;

                (ii) the pattern of conduct is initiated, in educology, by general questions (problems) about;
                                (a) what is the educational process as it actually is that can be experienced,

                                (b) what is the educational process as it evaluatively ought to be that can be experienced,

                                (c) what is the educational process as it should effectively be practiced to make the ought out of the actual that can be experienced, and,

                                (d) what is the educational process as it is involved in the best way to organically organize humans to be rational that can be experienced by People, as the party of the first part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract, as reflective thinking experiences conducted to consummation (completion),

                                (e) within the cultural and physical matrices constituting Nature, as the party of the second part in the social (semiosical, cultural) contract.

End Notes

[i] The website address (www.era-usa.net) accesses educology as what the earth needs now for democratic countries, developing on it, to counteract autocratic countries and radical terrorist individuals and organizations, also developing on it. On the distinction between the educational process, in which organically inheres educative and mis-educative experiences, as modeled after reflective thinking experiences, and, as the subject matter of educology, and educology, as the knowing-inquiry process, in which organically inheres the reflective thinking experience, as the model for the educative experience, and, as the subject matter of philosophy, as well as on the disctinctions between experiential, analytical, and phenomenological philosophies of educology, see my Contributing Paper 3 at this website.

[ii] John Dewey’s philosophy of experience is accounted for in his works on experience, for example, in his works on experience and nature, experience and conduct, experience and education, and, on experience and thought, inquiry, and reflective thinking, etc.

[iii] The meaning of the word ‘organic’, in the semiosical existence of the context of meanings in this paper, is used to refer to what is characteristic of living beings, whereas, the meaning of the word ‘inorganic’ is used to refer to what is characteristic of non-living beings, with awareness of the fact that in biology the difference between living and non-living beings is not as definite as being considered in this paper. It should be noted that, in this paper, the meaning of the word ‘organic’ is used to refer to mental existence, as being characteristic of living beings, specifically, of course, humans as living beings having psyche experiences of mental existence, and, also it should be noted that in this paper, the semiosical existence of meaning is also taken as a characteristic of living beings, again, specifically, of course, characteristic of humans as living beings having mind experiences of the semiosical existence of meaning, and, further that, in this paper, physical existence, as sensory experienced, is taken as a characteristic of humans as living beings.

[iv] An account of the tertiary quality of the psyche experience of situations, as problematic, i.e. indeterminate, situations in contrast to non-problematic, i.e. determinate, situations, can be found throughout Dewey’s work and is being focused on in the development of experiential philosophy of educology, specifically, as this kind of quality of the psyche experience is organically associated with the psyche experiences of educologists as educators, and their mental imagery and mental feelings, and with the psyche experiences of the students of educologists as educators, in situations existing in schools of all levels, and their (the students’) mental imagery and mental feelings.

[v] Dewey’s philosophy of what an object is can be found in Chapter 6, The Pattern of Inquiry, in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, pg. 122, where Dewey says “The name objects will be reserved for subject-matter so far as it has been produced and ordered in settled form by means of inquiry [by means of the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process]; proleptically, objects are the objectives of inquiry.” An object, or that which has become objectified, then, following Dewey in the development of the experiential philosophy of educology, is that which comes into physical, mental, and/or semiosical existence, or a composition of these kinds of existences, through the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, a process in which organically inheres the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences conducted, well, i.e. in complete form, and/or not well, i.e. in truncated form, as involved in situations, i.e. as involved in the existence of physical and mental circumstances cultivated, enculturalized, by the existence of a semiosical context of meaning, forming the cultural and physical matrices that constitute Nature.

          [vi] Dewey’s philosophy of organization, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, is grounded in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences that organically inheres in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, whereby, this pattern (this organization), for Dewey, is the “ultimate subject-matter,” in contrast to the “proximate subject-matter,” of logic, as accounted for in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry. See my Contributing Paper 5 at www.era-usa.net for how logic, methodology, psychology, and problematics are incorporated in this pattern (this organization), and how logic, as empirical knowledge about the pattern (organization) of phases of reflective thinking experiences, as organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process, serves as a model for organizing a pattern of educative experiences that organically inheres in the educational process, hence, making it an educologically known valuable process.

[vii] Dewey’s philosophy of imagination can be found interpreted by Steven Fesmire in his book John Dewey & Moral Imagination, Pragmatism in Ethics in Chapter Four of this book—Imagination in Pragmatist Ethics--specifically in the section of this chapter—Dewey’s Theory of Imagination—a section in which Fesmire, on page 64, makes the statement that “On Dewey’s view ‘imagination is as much a normal and integral part of human activity as is muscular movement’,” a statement indicating the significance of imagination of mental images, as involved in the feature of the psyche experience of mental existence, a feature organically associated with the features of the sensory experience of physical existence and of the mind experience of the semiosical existence of meaning, whereby, these features are organically inherent in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective experiences, as conduct, itself, organically inherent in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process.

[viii] Dewey’s philosophy of meaning, as what exists in and constitutes mind, can be found throughout his work, however, in this paper the identification of this existence will not be engaged in. It is, however, being focused on in the development of experiential philosophy of educology. In Knowing and the Known, Dewey and Bentley, in their provision of a trial set of specification of terms, deny the importance of the meaning of the word ‘meaning’, however, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, and from Dewey’s persistent use of the word ‘meaning’, it is inferred that its meaning semiosically exists, and is organically necessary, especially to understand the experience of mind’s intellection, by the apprehension and comprehension of meaning, hence, to understanding the inter-relationship of the conceptual experience of the existence of the universal and the perceptual experience, involving the sensory and psyche experiences of particulars, as the conceptual (mind) and particular (sensory and psyche) experiences, themselves, are inter-related and are featured in the experiences involved in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process as inter- and trans-actively practiced in the physical and cultural matrices constituting Nature.

[ix] As alluded to above, the distinction between the feature of sensory experiences of physical existence, the feature of psyche experiences of mental existence, and, the feature of mind experiences of the semiosical existence of meaning, can be found in my Contributing Paper 4 “A Naturalistic Ontology,” at www.era-usa.net.

It should be noted that, in Contributing Paper 4, I distinguish between the feature of mind experiences (intellection by the experiences of apprehension and comprehension, i.e. the conceptual experiences) of the semiosical existence of meaning and the feature of the feature of mind experiences (intellection by the experience of inference, as grounded in the conceptual experience) of the dispositional existence of propensities and habits, as these two features of mind experiences are organically associated with the feature of sensory experiences, formed as sensceptual experiences, of physical existence and the feature of psyche experiences of mental existence, and, also that, in Contributing Paper 4, I distinguish the sensory experience, formed as kinceptual experiences, of physiological existence (body aches, pains, pleasures, etc.) in the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences conducted in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, in inter- and tran-activity, respectively, with the physical and cultural matrices that constitute Nature. Also, in Contributing Paper 4, I distinguish spiritual existence as a Super-Natural existence, “outside” of the sensory, psyche, and mind experiences, whereby, the Faith Experience in this kind of existence, being organically associated with the faith experience involved in the mind’s inferential experience, as the inferential experience is grounded in the conceptual experience of the semiosical existence of meaning, is taken to be “inside” of the sensory, psyche, and mind experiences as they organically inhere, as features, in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences inter- and trans-actively practiced in the knowing-inquiry process in the physical and cultural matrices of Nature.

The feature of mind experiences, by inference, of the dispositional existence of habits and propensities, and the sensory experience, by kinception, of the physiological existence of body aches, pains, pleasure, etc., in this paper about the bridge and contract metaphors, have not been emphasized, though, they are significant features in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences practiced in the knowing-inquiry process, in inter- and trans-activity, respectively, within the physical and cultural matrices that constitute Nature.

The significance of these features in the conduct of this practice, in this inter- and trans-activity, respectively, with the physical and cultural matrices that constitute Nature, from the experiential philosophy perspective, in the near future, is planned to be accounted for, in consideration of Dewey’s work in Human Nature and Conduct, as it deals specifically with these, and the other, features in the conduct of this practice, in their inter- and trans-activity.

Specifically, using Dewey’s Human Nature and Conduct, as the context of the semiosical existence of word meaning within which to work, that which will be focused on will be the organic association of the psyche experiences of conation and volition, i.e. respectively, the psyche experience of the mental feeling of the urgency to move (mental urge to move), and of the mental feeling (mental urge) of determination to move or not move, and the sensory experience, i.e. the kinceptual experience of, the body feeling of urgency to move (body urge to move), as these kinds of psyche and sensory experiences are organically associated with the tendencies to move, as propensities, mind experienced by inference, i.e. the tendencies to move that are unlearned, and the tendencies to move, as habits, also, as mind experienced by inference, i.e. the tendencies to move that are learned, as these mind experiences are organically associated and featured with the sensory and psyche experience features in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences practiced in the knowing-inquiry process, in inter- and trans-activity, respectively within the physical and cultural matrices that
constitute Nature.

[x] The practice of specifying, as it is involved in inter- and trans-activity in the conduct of the pattern of phases of experiences organically inhering in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, followed here, is accounted for in the Knowing and the Known, John Dewey and Arthur Bentley in Chapter 6—Specification.

[xi] John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy of the empirical aspect of the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inhering in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process, contrasts with the logical positivist philosophy of the empirical aspect of language, and its meaning, in this conduct and practice, in that Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy emphasizes the empirical aspect of the features of the sensory experience of physical existence, the psyche experience of mental existence, and the mind experience of the semiosical existence of meaning, within this conduct and practice, and the logical positivist philosophy emphasizes only the feature of the sensory experience of physical existence. See my Contributing Paper 3, at www.era-usa.net, for an account of how the logical positivist philosophy is logically in accord with the empirical philosophical knowledge about the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process, associated with analytical philosophy of educology and of how the pragmatist philosophy is similarly associated with experiential philosophy of educology.

[xii] The distinction between the inorganic and organic physical matrix and the organic cultural (semiosical) matrix constituting situations in nature is being made by following Dewey’s chapters The Biological Matrix and the The Cultural Matrix in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry.

[xiii] Dewey’s philosophy of what a situation is can be found throughout his work, wherein, the distinction between objects in situations and situations is continuously made and used, and from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, a situation is the existence of a series of physical and mental circumstances, circumscribed and enculturalized, hence, cultivated, by the semiosical existence of a context of meaning by which, then, the circumstances become significant.

[xiv] What is referred to by the meaning of the word ‘well’, in this context of the semiosical existence of meanings, involves what Dewey refers to by the meaning of the words ‘complete act of thought’, as accounted for in his How We Think, and as further accounted for in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry. For reflective thinking experiences to be conducted well, then, is for them to be conducted to completion, i.e. to their consummation. For an account of a complete act of thought, according to Dewey, as beginning and ending in observation, i.e. in the sensory experience of physical existence, see his book How We Think.

[xv] For an account of what the meaning of the words ‘educational process’ is used to refer to, in this context of the semiosical existence of meanings, see my Contributing Paper 1 An Outlined Introduction to the Universal and Unifying Experiential Research Methodology in the Domain of Educology (The Discipline of Educology Introduced to Graduate Students in Educology) at www.era-usa.net.

[xvi] A valuably good educational process, from the perspective of this paper, is one that includes more educative experiences than mis-educative experiences, as indicated in my Contributing Paper 1 found at www.era-usa.net. In that paper, in its section named Section A, you will find that the words ‘educative experience’ have been inserted in Region III, to indicate the inclusion of educative experiences in the educational process. What an educative experience is follows Dewey’s philosophy of what this experience is, in contrast to what a mis-educative experience is, as found in his Experience and Education, in which educative experiences are related to the growth experience accounted for, by the “technical definition” of education, as that of the “reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases ability to direct the course of subsequent experience,” (Democracy and Education, pg. 76) as it is modeled after the definition of inquiry as “the controlled or directed transformation of an indeterminate situation into one that is so determinate in its constituent distinctions and relation as to convert the elements of the original situation into a unified.” (Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, pg. 108) , whereby, the educative experience, organically inherent in the educational process, and the reflective thinking experience, organically inherent in the educologically oriented knowing-inquiry process, are involved, respectively, in reconstruction, reorganization, transformation, i.e. in a valuable change, of experience and situations.

[xvii] It is noted again here that the meaning of the word ‘rationality’ is used to refer to reflective thinking experiences being conducted well, i.e. conducted to their completion (consummation) in thought, when practicing the knowing-inquiry process. A rational human, then, is one that conducts reflective thinking experiences well, i.e. that conducts them to their completion, in the knowing-inquiry process.

[xviii] The use of the semiosical existence of the meanings of the words ‘scientific educology’, ‘ethical educology’, and ‘praxiological educology’, to reference kinds of educological knowledge, follows Elizabeth Steiner Maccia and Wolfgang Brezinka, respectively, in their works that can be found in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 issues of cd-IJE, i.e. in the Compact Disk format of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 issues of the International Journal of Educology, available through the Education Research Complete EBSCO database.

[xix] It is to be noted here that the meaning of the words ‘inquiry process’ is used to function synonymously with the meaning of the word ‘knowing process’, and that the practice of the knowing-inquiry process is a practice in which organically inheres the conduct of reflective thinking experiences which can be done well or not well, i.e. that can be done to completion (consummation) or not done to completion (consummation).

[xx] The meaning of the word ‘inter-action’, as used in the semiosical existence of the context of meanings in this paper, is accounted for in cd-IJE, i.e. in the Compact Disk formatted version of the International Journal of Educology, 2004, Volume 18, Number 1, specifically in my papers An Introduction to Philosophy of Educology as the Philosophy of the Future in the New Situation of Life in the World (An Essay in Philosophy of Educology) and Toward an Ecologically Oriented Philosophy of Educology for Future Challenges in the World (An Essay in Philosophy of Educology), available through the Education Research Complete EBSCO database.

In brief the meaning refers to re-actions of organic and/or inorganic physical existence with organic and/or inorganic physical existence, whereby, organic and/or inorganic physical existence is not considered to be enculturalized, i.e. not considered to be “cultivated,” or, considered to be not cultured or not cultivated, by the semiosical existence of meaning, hence, human’s sensory experiences, as and only as sensory experiences, are considered to be not cultured or not cultivated by the semiosical existence of meaning, therefore, are, and only are, considered to be involved in inter-actions, but not in trans-actions. See xvii below for the meaning of the word ‘trans-action’, as used in the semiosical existence of the context of meanings in this paper.

[xxi] The meanings of the words ‘symbolic’, ‘iconic’, and ‘indexical’ are used in accord with Charles Peirce’s use of them to refer to three different functioning kinds of signs, to which semiosical existence of meanings is ascribed, in Nature.

[xxii] The meaning of the word ‘trans-action’, as used in the semiosical existence of the context of meanings in this paper, is accounted for as referenced in xx above. In brief the meaning refers to actions made possible by the semiosical existence of meanings, through the conduct of reflective thinking experiences practiced in the knowing-inquiry process, being assigned to, i.e. being used to refer to, for example, organic and/or inorganic physical existence and/or organic mental existence, hence, enculturalizing, i.e. cultivating, their existence, therefore, “bringing” culture into existence.

Inter-action, then, contrasts with trans-action in that it is re-action between and among organic and/or inorganic physical existences and organic mental existences that have not been enculturalized, i.e. have not been cultivated, by the semiosical existence of meanings, hence, have not been “brought” into cultural existence, whereas, trans-action is action made possible by the semiosical existence of meanings used to refer to organic and/or physical existences and organic mental existences, hence, these kind of existences being “brought” into cultural existence, out of, i.e. from, physical and mental existence.

[xxiii] The subject matter of the practice of inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, and abductive reasoning, as three forms of reasoning, with the semiosical existence of meaning being featured in mind experiences, organically associated with the features of the sensory experience of physical existence, the psyche experience of mental existence, and the mind experience of the semiosical existence meaning, as features involved in the conduct of the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences organically inherent in the practice of knowing-inquiry process, constitute subject-matter being focused on in the development of experiential philosophy of educology.

[xxiv] Dewey’s philosophy of perception and conception, which is followed in this paper, can be found throughout his work and is being focused on in the development of experiential philosophy of educology.

[xxv] Dewey’s philosophy of generals and universals, which is followed in this paper, can be found in Chapter 14, Generic and Universal Propositions in Logic: The Theory of Inquiry.

[xxvi] See the page named “The Philosophical Fallacy” on the website www.era-usa.net for an account of this fallacy as it relates to educology, through the experiential philosophy of educology.

[xxvii] Dewey, in many cases, refers to this general pattern of phases in the conduct of reflective thinking experiences, that organically inheres in the knowing-inquiry process, by the meaning of the words ‘continuum of inquiry’, and ‘complete act of thought’, whereby, then, this general pattern of the continuum of inquiry, or of a complete act of thought, he accounts for in his book How We Think, which, from the perspective of experiential philosophy of educology, is a book in experiential educology, and in his book Logic: The Theory of Inquiry, which, from this perspective, is a book in experiential philosophy of educology. For an account of this pattern, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, see my Contributing Paper 1 at www.era-usa.net. In this paper, theoretical thinking is considered to be thinking using statemental meaning for testing for truth and practical thinking is considered to be thinking using statemental meaning when testing for truth, whereas, both theoretical and practical thinking are considered as aspects of the pattern of phases that unify, universalize, and discipline reflective thinking experiences, as organically inherent in the knowing-inquiry process within the cultural and physical matrices constituting Nature.

[xxviii] For an excellent and brief account of the Constitution of the United States, as a social contract, in the sense conceived, here, i.e. in the sense of the People, as one party in the social contract, and, Nature, as the other party in the social contract, not, as the People, as one party, and the Government, as the other party, nor, the People, as one party, and the State, as the other party, see http://attyralph.blogspot.com/2005/11/constitution-and-its-legitimacy_23.html.

[xxix] Both of these books, in different ways, account for informal conversations in all social relationships in all cultures, and their involvement of the ubiquitous semiosical existence of meaning, as, from the experiential philosophy of educology perspective, they are mind experienced, by intellection, by all parties in the conversations, through the experiences of apprehension and comprehension of meaning, whereby, the feature of the mind experience is organically associated with the features of the sensory experience of physical existence and of the psyche experience of mental existence, as these features are, themselves, organically inherent in the pattern of phases of reflective thinking experiences conducted in the practice of the knowing-inquiry process within the cultural and physical matrices constituting Nature.

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