Pragmatic is an adjective that means “related to practical affairs and characterized by concern with results.” People who are pragmatic think about how things work and what will have the best result. They take into account the effect of a given action on the real world and its effects on other people. For example, if someone knows that traffic can be unpredictable they may leave early when going to the airport. They are also concerned with being prepared and would bring an umbrella in case it rains.
One of the most famous proponents of pragmatism is William James, who believed that something is true only insofar as it works. This view is often interpreted as being anti-religious or dismissive of religions. It is important to note however that James did not reject the possibility of transcendent realities or supernatural beings. He simply argued that the only way to determine whether something is true is to test it out in practice.
This pragmatic approach has been influential on philosophers of science and philosophy of language. It has influenced how scientific theories are developed, and it is critical in discussions about the limits of science and the nature of meaning and value. It is also the basis of the argument against reductionism.
Although pragmatism has a wide range of applications, it has some serious flaws. The first is that pragmatism can be seen as just another form of relativism. This is because pragmatism is so focused on results, it can sometimes be used as an excuse for not having any values or beliefs at all.
The second flaw is that pragmatism can collapse when applied to moral issues. This is because it is difficult to define what is morally right or wrong and because there are many different views on the matter.
Despite these flaws, many scholars continue to use pragmatism to interpret linguistic and cognitive phenomena. In particular, there is a large literature on pragmatic development that is hard to pin down into a single theory. This is because pragmatics is a complex intention recognition system that interacts with both language and cognition in many ways.
A synthesis of the various approaches is possible but will require more research. This is especially important because the pragmatics literature is based on a broad range of empirical and experimental studies. In addition, there are many other philosophical and theoretical perspectives that need to be taken into account. For example, there are many debates about the nature of pragmatics and the relationship between semantics and pragmatics. Taking all these factors into account will be necessary for progress in the field of pragmatics. The papers in this special issue illustrate some of the ways that this is being done.
