Pragmatic is a word used to describe people who are practical and down-to-earth. Those who are pragmatic often take a “what works” approach to solving problems and making decisions, instead of wasting time with idealistic ideas or theories that may not work in practice.

People who are pragmatic are effective in getting things done. They are also good at dealing with the “big picture,” so they see the logical steps needed to get things done, rather than thinking in terms of idealistic concepts like justice or fairness. While some people are very pragmatic, others are more idealistic and only want to do the right thing.

Classic pragmatists developed a distinctive method that gives rise to an original a posteriori epistemology and provides a foundation for philosophy of science, ethics, politics and social sciences. They also offered rich contributions to metaphilosophy and philosophy of language. The epistemology of pragmatism offers an alternative to traditional skepticism, and is an attempt to reconcile anti-skepticism and fallibilism (Habermas 2003).

The philosophy of language is also an important area of philosophical research for pragmatists. The notion of pragmatics as the inference to meaning from a speaker’s literal utterance is central to this philosophy. It is the inference of communicative intention that distinguishes human communication from other forms of animal communication and machines (Austin 1962).

Some pragmatist philosophers have made contributions to logic, philosophical semantics, sociology and epistemology. One of the most prominent pragmatist philosophers is William James, who is known for his pragmaticism and methodological individualism. He is also known for his criticism of realism and idealism, and for his theory of motivation.

Other pragmatist philosophers include C. S. Peirce and Charles Sanderson, who developed multiple methods of informal logic, and Stephen Toulmin, whose book The Uses of Argument inspired scholars in informal logic and rhetoric. Some pragmatists have contributed to the philosophy of science and education, and others have worked on issues of race, ethics, religion and culture.

Contemporary pragmatists are developing new areas of application for the philosophy. In particular, a new wave of pragmatists is working on value theory and philosophical metaphilosophy. They are also extending the philosophy of language to include an analysis of ambiguity and interpretation, and providing a framework for scientific discourse.

Many neopragmatists have drawn on classical pragmatism, although their interests differ significantly from that of the classical pragmatists. For example, in a recent paper (Brandom 2008) the author develops a pragmatist metaethics that seeks to provide a unified approach to normative and descriptive moral issues, and draws on both classical and neopragmatism. However, his work is not strongly influenced by the classic pragmatists and his own influences are diverse, including philosophers such as Wilfrid Sellars and Quine, as well as his teacher Richard Rorty. Nevertheless, this work is symptomatic of a pragmatist revival in recent years. In the future, pragmatists are likely to continue to expand and deepen their contributions to philosophy of science, social science, ethics and metaphilosophy.