Rekonstruktive Synthesis Zur Methodik der Kulturphilosophie bei Ernst Cassirer und John Dewey

This paper argues that Ernst Cassirer and John Dewey - despite their seemingly opposing views on ‚idealism‘ and ‚naturalism‘ - pursue a common project. We want to elucidate this project along the lines of a philosophy of culture that is characterized by the leading idea of a reconstructive synthesis. The consequent result of this common project consists in the program for a logic of cultural inquiry. In order to establish the decisive link between Cassirer and Dewey we will first have a look at historical interrelations highlighting a shared conception of philosophy. We will, then, elaborate on the method of reconstruction as well as the transformative aspect of the logic of inquiry in Cassirer and Dewey. Finally, we will give a programmatic sketch of the logic of cultural inquiry resulting from our synthesis of the two theories.