The Problem of Growth: A Deweyan Account

In contemporary societies, ‘growth’ has become a keyword invoked whenever we speak of development or progress – economic, social, psychological, or technological. Yet this prominence is not accompanied by adequate reflection on the normative criteria that would allow us to distinguish between desirable and undesirable forms of growth. To begin to fill this gap, the paper turns to the philosophy of John Dewey, who conceives growth as a qualitative transformation of experience, oriented toward the intelligent and cooperative expansion of living conditions. Dewey’s account thus challenges contemporary views, which are often reductive and allegedly value-neutral. After examining some dominant conceptions of growth, the paper reconstructs Dewey’s account and, on its basis, identifies two normative criteria for individual and social growth.