On the record
We are compelled to say that for some purposes, for some results, the tree is the individual, for others the cell, and for a third, the forest or the landscape.
Said by
John Dewey
Source
gutenberg.orgJohn Dewey: “We are compelled to say that for some purposes, for some results, the tree is the individual, for others the cell, and…”
Editor's note · Context
Dewey suggests that the definition of an individual can vary depending on the context and perspective.
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Personal loyalties to elders take the place of political obedience.
They are made that way; it is “the nature of the beast.” We do not gain anything by inserting instincts to run, creep, swim and fly between the structure and the act.
The invasion of the community by the new and relatively impersonal and mechanical modes of combined human behavior is the outstanding fact of modern life.
But it indicates where the problem resides, whatever guise it assumes.