Pragmatic is a broad philosophical approach to questions of meaning and communication that draws on the work of Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and Josiah Royce. It provides a third alternative to analytic and continental philosophy, and its ideas continue to be of interest to philosophers worldwide.
A central theme of the pragmatist approach is the importance of context. Understanding what a speaker means by their words, the circumstances in which they are said, and their intention and action can determine whether or not the communication is successful. The mastery of these pragmatic rules is essential to cross-cultural understanding, and the pragmatist philosophy has contributed to a greater understanding of global communication and intercultural interaction.
This pragmatist framework of inquiry has been applied to many different disciplines, including education, business, art, sociology, psychology, and politics. In education, the pragmatist approach has been used to understand student learning and how best to facilitate it. Business practices have been influenced by pragmatism in the development of new products and services, as well as the training of employees. Sociology has benefited from the pragmatist perspective in its research on intergroup relations and conflict resolution. Art has been enriched by the pragmatist analysis of the creative process, and political theory has gained insight from the pragmatist view of the nature of power and authority.
The most recent developments in pragmatism are the result of a shift in philosophical centre of gravity away from North America, with vibrant research networks now active in South America, Scandinavia and, more recently, China. The work of pragmatist thinkers continues to be cited in a wide range of academic journals and books.
A growing number of philosophers are identifying themselves as pragmaticists, although their approaches vary significantly. The most common pragmatists today are Robert Brandom and the so-called New Pragmatists, who have shifted the focus of attention away from linguistic meaning to other areas of philosophy, such as epistemology, social and political philosophy, and the philosophy of education. The New Pragmatists are also influenced by philosophers such as Wilfrid Sellars and Quine, Richard Rorty and his school of thought, and historical readings in thinkers including Kant and Hegel.
A growing trend in pragmatism is the use of experimental data to support claims about pragmatics. This is especially true for the study of language, where a set of principles known as the Gricean Maxims has been developed to guide researchers. The maxims are: Be concise, be clear, be truthful and be relevant. These maxims are designed to help us to communicate effectively with one another and ensure that the conversation is focused on a topic that is of real interest to all participants. This type of experimentation has been very fruitful for pragmatists working in language studies. It is hoped that these kinds of experiments will continue to be carried out as the field of pragmatics matures.
