During his lifetime, philosopher John Dewey (1859–1952) had a significant impact on American intellectual life. He became a strong proponent of an ideology known as pragmatism. Simply put, pragmatism is the view that truth should be based upon whatever works, while unpractical ideas should be rejected.

Dewey’s version of pragmatism, or what he refers to as “cultural naturalism,” is an ideology based on his belief that philosophical thought should be reconstructed so as to become more practical for use by everyday people:

Dewey argued that philosophy had become an overly technical and intellectualistic discipline, divorced from assessing the social conditions and values dominating everyday life.

Thus, philosophy, from Dewey’s perspective, was in need of recovery. In his view, modern societies needed to focus on topics of broader moral significance. His writing concentrated on human freedom, women’s suffrage, race relations, sociology, and other practical concerns influencing people’s lives.

What is groundbreaking about Dewey’s point of view and that of other pragmatists of his era like Richard Rorty, C. S. Peirce, and William James is the idea that “truth is what works.” Truth is an evolving concept that changes with situations humans face regularly. Whereas traditional philosophical thought espouses a set of beliefs that purport to reflect reality, Dewey’s brand of pragmatism rejects the confusion of philosophical theory in favor of a system that ordinary people can actually use. Dewey addresses the sharp schism between traditional theoretical beliefs and practical solutions to human problems.

Dewey’s departure from traditional thought had a profound impact on education. He argued that education should be applicable to the real world. With a greater empirical approach, students are encouraged to be free-thinkers through practical and experiential learning—and that is groundbreaking.

Dewey makes the argument that philosophy needs recovery because it is not as rooted in solving problems. Dewey believes that the tendency to dwell on academic or intellectual matters that are far divorced from reality is part of the reason why Philosophy needs a sense of recovery:  "Former problems may not have been solved, but they no longer press for solution. Philosophy is no exception to the rule. But it is unusually conservative—not, necessarily, in proffering solutions, but in clinging to problems."  Dewey believes that Philosophy has to be transformed because it attaches itself to "theology and theological morals."  In Dewey's mind, Pragmatism is groundbreaking because it seeks to establish experience and real world attachment as a viable metric for philosophical success.  Dewey argues that an approach which is rooted in Pragmatism is fundamentally transformative because it seeks to find solutions. Dewey believed that Pragmatism's emphasis resided in solving problems, thereby revealing truth.  Dewey seeks to make the discourse of philosophy more connected to experience.  It is here where he sees the need for recovery and why Pragmatism was so groundbreaking for him.  Dewey argues that being able to use philosophy as a connective force to experience is a tool that individuals possess and must use:  "The human being has upon his hands the problem of responding to what is going on around him so that these changes will take one turn rather than another, namely, that required by its own further functioning."  It is in this need to "respond" that makes Pragmatism so important for Dewey.