Abstract: This paper focuses on Dewey's action education based on his study of children to showcase the concrete understanding of individualism in American pragmatism.Among the many social problems encountered in the American Gilded Age,the isolated individualism most epitomises the action dilemma of modern Americans,exacerbating the moral crisis and social divide of American society.The primary goal of Dewey's child research and progressive education reform at that time was to better understand the action structure and personality form of modern individuals,so as to overcome the action problem caused by isolated individualism.Dewey first classified "children" in the educational sense into four stages of development:early infancy,late infancy,childhood,and adolescence.By using the action mechanism of "stimulus-response",Dewey hoped to combine natural forces and social consciousness at the same time,and ultimately shape a "social individual" in the process of action education.The social individual is represented as a complete state of action,which on the one hand retains the sacredness derived from the nature,and on the other hand continuously absorbs the civilizational traditions from society.Dewey believed that only such a modern individual with full action power could truly cope with the challenges of the modern world in terms of both human mind and society.By transforming isolated individuals into social individuals,Dewey attempted to find answers to the social problems of the Gilded Age through educational reforms.Moreover,the theoretical conception of "social individual" and the corresponding educational practices also profoundly influenced the theoretical development and empirical research orientation of the early American sociology.This study helps us further understand the early ideological foundation of American sociology and reflect on our current situation.

Key words: social individual, individualism, Dewey, American social theory