Q0270
“Experience is not a veil that shuts man off from nature; it…” — John Dewey (Experience and Nature)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Experience and Nature. Theme: experience.
English
Experience is not a veil that shuts man off from nature; it is a means of penetrating continually further into the heart of nature.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Experience and Nature and files it under Pragmatism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About John Dewey
John Dewey (1859–1952) was the leading American pragmatist of the progressive era, joining philosophy to experimental education and democratic reform. Educated at Vermont and Johns Hopkins, he taught at Michigan, Chicago—where he ran the Laboratory School—and Columbia.
How to read this passage
Empiricists treat experience as the source of ideas; phenomenologists describe its structure; pragmatists treat it as experimental and revisable. This passage enters that discussion through experience, nature, inquiry.
Concepts in this quote
- Experience
- Experience is the lived encounter with world and self—foundation or limit for knowledge, art, and ethics.
- Nature
- Philosophy quotes about nature ask what the cosmos is, how humans belong in it, and whether “natural” can guide ethics or politics.
- Inquiry
- Inquiry is the disciplined pursuit of better questions and answers—philosophy as method rather than dogma.
How to cite this quotation
APA: John Dewey. (n.d.). Experience is not a veil that shuts man off from nature; it is a means of penetrating continually further into the heart of nature. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0270
MLA: John Dewey. “Experience is not a veil that shuts man….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0270.
Chicago: John Dewey. “Experience is not a veil that shuts man….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0270.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Experience is not a veil that shuts man…”?
The passage is attributed to John Dewey, Experience and Nature. The archive attributes this English wording to Experience and Nature and files it under Pragmatism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does John Dewey mean by experience?
Empiricists treat experience as the source of ideas; phenomenologists describe its structure; pragmatists treat it as experimental and revisable. This passage enters that discussion through experience, nature, inquiry.