Pragmatic is a philosophical movement that understands knowing the world as inseparable from acting within it. It has a broad range of interpretations, including the idea that an ideology or proposition is true only if it works satisfactorily, that meaning in language can only be found by looking at how people actually use it, that philosophic theories are best tested via scientific experimentation, and that a person’s sense of what is important in life is defined by the way they experience it. Pragmatism emerged in the United States during the latter quarter of the nineteenth century and has since been a significant third alternative to analytic and continental philosophy traditions.

Pragmatists like to focus on real-world results and practicality rather than adherence to strict philosophic principles or ideals. They are willing to compromise in order to get the outcome they desire, and they prioritize practicality over idealism or ideological rigidity.

If you’ve ever been faced with a dilemma in which you have to choose between doing something exciting that may end badly and something a little boring but certain to be useful, you’re likely a pragmatic person. This is because being pragmatic means you’re willing to weigh up the pros and cons of each option. You’re not afraid to make sacrifices for the greater good of a desired outcome.

As a philosophical movement, pragmatism is highly flexible and has influenced a wide range of non-philosophical fields, including law, education, politics, sociology, and psychology. It also has a surprisingly rich and varied philosophical legacy that encompasses numerous schools of thought. This article focuses on the classical pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, as well as the contemporary pragmatists Richard Rorty, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Willard Quine.

There is no single ‘pragmatist creed’, and a great many of the ideas pragmatists hold are disputed by others. However, there are certain themes and theses that loom large for a substantial number of pragmatists.

One key tenet is that, to a certain extent, it makes no difference what you believe to be true. You simply have to be able to act upon it in a sensible way. This is a form of what pragmatists call ‘the pragmatic test’.

For a pragmatist like William James, something is true insofar as it is effective. This is why the statement that your prayers are heard might be soothing at a psychological level but does not necessarily bring about the things you pray for in the real world.

Another pragmatist principle is that the world cannot be known in any objective, invariant way. Instead, it must be viewed as a collection of various subjective experiences whose meaning can only be determined by the way we experience it. This is called pragmatism’s ‘pragmatic approach’.