Pragmatic is the contextual meaning of our words and sentences – it’s what you take into account when you speak or write, beyond the simple dictionary definition. It’s the subtle art of communication, and your knowledge of pragmatics is what enables you to understand the subtleties of ambiguity that abound in our daily communications.
People who are pragmatic think more about the results and consequences of their actions than their own ideals or principles. The word is often used as a contrast to idealistic people, who stick rigidly to their principles and are unwilling to compromise.
In the early 20th century, pragmatism was one of the major alternatives to analytic and continental philosophy traditions worldwide. Its key ideas originated in discussions at the so-called Metaphysical Club that took place at Harvard around 1870. Two of the most influential pragmatists were Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Their work was then further developed by James’s Harvard colleague Josiah Royce.
Though a small movement, pragmatism has had a profound impact on the history of philosophical thought. It has survived many attacks, including from those whose aim was to dismiss it as mere’representationalism’ (see the section on Peirce and James). It has also enjoyed a number of revivals since its decline in the 1970s. Richard Rorty, for example, turned consciously to pragmatism in an attempt to rectify what he saw as mainstream epistemology’s crucial mistake of naively conceiving that thought and language are perfect mirror images of reality. These attempts to rehabilitate classical pragmatism have given rise to the neo-pragmatist school of philosophers, which also includes Hilary Putnam and Robert Brandom.
Pragmatism’s central idea is that the meaning of any concept, notion or hypothesis depends on its application in actual practice. Therefore, the ‘pragmatic maxim’ enables us to determine how to use a concept in a particular situation and so to discern what its correct meaning is. The ‘pragmatic maxim’ is therefore also useful for avoiding empty disputes that are not concerned with the practical application of a concept.
Pragmatism stresses the connection between thought and action, and has been embraced by applied fields such as public administration, political science, leadership studies and international relations, where it provides an objective basis for evaluation and criticism. More recently, it has gained traction in the area of educational philosophy and research methodology. Increasingly, pragmatism’s intellectual centre of gravity is moving out of North America, with vibrant networks appearing in South America and Scandinavia, as well as central Europe and China. See the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s entry for more details.
