On the record
If one asks not for an enumeration of facts, but for a definition of the state, one is plunged into controversy, into a medley of contradictory clamors.
Said by
John Dewey
Source
gutenberg.orgJohn Dewey: “If one asks not for an enumeration of facts, but for a definition of the state, one is plunged into controversy, into a…”
Editor's note · Context
Dewey notes that seeking a definition of the state leads to controversy and conflicting opinions rather than clarity.
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For the older symbols of ideal life still engage thought and command loyalty.
What is significant is that access to means of amusement has been rendered easy and cheap beyond anything known in the past.
They persist as emotional cries rather than as reasoned ideas.
For the very familiarity with the phenomena conceals their significance and blinds us to their relation to immediate political problems.