長久以來國人對於杜威思想的理解一直圍繞在實用主義、實驗主義、或是工具主義的視野，事實上杜威在1925年就自稱其哲學為自然主義經驗論（或是經驗的自然主義），以此角度來探討他在1934年的「藝術即經驗」是較為正確的理解方式。杜威所詮釋的「經驗」，較諸傳統經驗主義者所解釋的「經驗」加上理性判斷的成分，涵蓋做與受二者的交互作用；其中，兼具初級經驗與次級經驗的完整經驗才是人類文化精華之所在。藝術經驗既是完整經驗也是高峰經驗，它包含開始、中程、結束三個階段，一般零散的經驗則無此結構。杜威在全美教育學會所積極推廣的各項展示活動，與實驗學校時期的融合課程即藝術經驗之具體展現，文末作者嘗試對杜威的藝術經驗理念提出總結與批評。

John Dewey’s thought has been understood from the points of pragmatism, experimentalism, or instrumentalism. However, Dewey named his own thought “natural empiricism” (or “empirical naturalism”) in 1925, which represents the philosopher’s thought in via later works. It would be more reasonable if we explore Dewey’s thought via this point of view. According to Dewey, traditional empiricists regarded experience only as fragments of senses. In Dewey’s view, “experience” should be “double-barrelled”, including both daily fragments and rational judgement. Experience compromises the interaction of doing and undergoing. Only a whole experience, which includes primary and secondary experience, could be crowned as the essence of human civilization. Art experience is a whole, consummatory experience, which has beginning, intermediate, and final stages. The displaying activities held by Dewey and his colleagues in National Educational Association and the fused occupations in the Laboratory School were vivid evidence of art experience. This essay includes several concluding comments.