Pragmatics is the study of human language from a perspective that focuses on speakers’ communicative intentions and their use of languages in the context of particular speech communities. This contrasts with traditional approaches to language studies, which focus on meaning, grammar, or reference. Pragmatics is a subfield of philosophy, but also has important connections with anthropology, sociology, psychology and other disciplines. The interdisciplinary nature of pragmatics allows for rich cross-pollination of ideas, theories and methods from multiple disciplines, underscoring the interconnectedness of human communication with social, cultural and cognitive dimensions of our lives.
What makes someone a pragmatist is difficult to pin down. There is no pragmatist creed, nor any set of essential tenets endorsed by all pragmatists. But it is possible to identify certain themes and theses that have loomed large in the pragmatist tradition.
The most recognizable theme is James’ and Dewey’s dissatisfaction with ordinary empiricism. They wanted to give a place to connections and meaning, not just sense data, in the fabric of experience. This, they argued, is what they meant by “radical empiricism” (Dewey) or “immediate empiricism” (James).
Another recurrent theme concerns the role of beliefs in representing reality. For pragmatists, the only way that we know if our beliefs represent reality is to test them in inquiry and action. If they do, we can deem them true. If not, we must replace them with more reliable ones. Thus, pragmatists argue that truth is the residue of a struggle to make beliefs useful.
A third recurrent theme concerns the nature of inquiry. For pragmatists, it is not just an intellectual activity, but an activity in which we struggle to understand the world around us and to find our place in it. The pragmatist insistence that inquiry is the attempt to return to a state of settled belief about a recalcitrant matter of fact fits well with skepticism, which is itself an ancient, natural response to uncertainty about the world and human knowledge.
Among other things, pragmatics has given rise to the new fields of semantics, pragmatic typology and philosophical anthropology. It has also influenced research in the areas of cognitive science, psycholinguistics and experimental linguistics. And, as the interdisciplinary field of pragmatics continues to expand, its influence on other disciplines is sure to increase. For example, a growing body of research in the development and evaluation of interventions for a variety of disorders and diseases is being conducted using pragmatic methodologies. This research aims to improve the translation and dissemination of effective treatments into clinical practice. It is hoped that pragmatic approaches to research will lead to more rapid and relevant scientific progress in the treatment of human suffering. This, in turn, will benefit individuals, communities and societies.
