A pragmatic person is one who focuses on the results and consequences of decisions and actions, rather than a set of ideals or principles. The term is also used to describe a person who acts in the best interest of the situation. People who are described as pragmatic tend to be more logical and sensible than those who are idealistic. This type of person is often able to find a balance between the two, so that they are not overly rigid with their principles but are willing to compromise when necessary.
The term pragmatic is often used in the context of philosophy as a way to describe a philosophical position that focuses on how things actually work, as opposed to an abstract and idealistic version of how things should be. This type of philosophy is sometimes referred to as realist philosophy, and it can be found in a number of different fields and disciplines, including ethics, sociology, economics, and philosophy.
Pragmatism was developed by American philosophers such as Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. These philosophers rejected the Cartesian picture of mind and language that had been imposed on philosophy by Descartes and that characterized the philosophizing of the Enlightenment. They sought to free philosophy from optional assumptions that generated insoluble problems. In the early twentieth century, such pragmatists as Quine, Wittgenstein, Carnap, Reichenbach, Nelson Goodman, and Karl Popper took up various parts of this legacy with varying enthusiasms. However, mainstream analytic philosophers tended to ignore pragmatism until the 1980s.
While Hilary Putnam has denied that he is a pragmatist, his works on James, Peirce, and Dewey have helped to revive the philosophy’s profile. In his writings, he has highlighted the rejection of skepticism and the willingness to embrace fallibilism; the rejection of sharp dichotomies such as that between fact and value, thought and experience, mind and body etc; and the emphasis on what he calls “the primacy of practice” (Putnam 1994a).
Another pragmatist who has regained prominence is Jurgen Habermas, a Frankfurt School philosopher. His writings on communication and discourse make use of a range of pragmatist concepts, especially the notion that social life is irremediably mediated by language. His work is a fascinating example of how pragmatism can be used as a foil against the instrumentalist rationality that he sees invading our lives, whilst still remaining at the heart of his own philosophy. This is a valuable contribution to 20th century philosophy, and it will be interesting to see whether he can take his theory of communicative action to the next level. Normative pragmatics is an area in which there is considerable activity, and Habermas himself has urged that the philosophy of communication be made more systematic. It will be exciting to see if his efforts can help to revitalize a philosophy that was once on the verge of extinction.
