Pragmatic is the philosophical approach that tries to bridge the gap between thought and action. Its tenets are incorporated into a wide variety of disciplines like public administration, leadership studies, ethics, political science and even physics. However, philosophical approaches to pragmatics differ greatly in their underlying assumptions and methods.
The philosophical tradition of Pragmatism is closely related to the philosophy of language, which deals with the nuances and meanings of words in context. Pragmatists attempt to answer questions about how we interpret the meaning of an utterance, what exactly is being communicated, and what kind of understanding the listener should obtain from the speaker’s intention.
Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and Josiah Royce were all prominent proponents of Pragmatism. They all shared a desire to avoid attempting to pin down the ‘absolute’ meaning of a concept. Rather, they viewed concepts as ‘living’ and constantly changing in light of new information and experience.
This concept of reality as continually mutable is central to the philosophical theory of Pragmatism. It is also a central feature of the pragmatic epistemology that was developed by James. In his view, an utterance can only have a meaningful interpretation if it has some practical relevance in the world and serves the purpose of inquiry and action. In other words, a belief becomes true in the sense that it is useful to intelligent organisms in their struggle to survive and make progress in life.
Unlike semanticists, who believe that meaning is derived solely from the dictionary definition of a word, and contextualists, who think that the semantics are largely autonomous, pragmatics takes a more holistic view of communication. It attempts to capture the pragmatically’successful’ ways that speakers use language to get their message across, such as politely hedging a request, reading between the lines, and negotiating turn-taking norms in conversation.
A pragmatic person is a practical, reasonable person who considers the effects of his or her actions before taking them. This is often contrasted with an idealistic person who strives to adhere to her or his principles regardless of consequences. The term pragmatic is most commonly used when discussing people or decisions, but it can also be applied to things, such as a business strategy or a piece of art.
