Pragmatic is a way of thinking and behaving that prioritizes practical considerations and the consequences of actions over theoretical ideals. Pragmatic people tend to be flexible and adaptable, focusing on solutions that work in real-world scenarios. This type of pragmatic thinking is often associated with a lack of moral judgment and a preference for reality-based outcomes.
There is no pragmatist creed; no neat list of articles or essential tenets endorsed by all pragmatists, though there are certain ideas that have loomed large in the pragmatist tradition. These include radical empiricism, an open-ended view of the nature of meaning and value, and a rejection of the notion that all philosophical problems have unique, unambiguous answers.
One major area where pragmatism has gained wide acceptance is in its emphasis on the connection between thought and action. Applied disciplines such as public administration, political science, leadership studies, and even research methodology have incorporated many of the principles of pragmatism in their work.
Another significant area where pragmatism has grown in popularity is its approach to language and logic. While some pragmatists have criticized formal logic as overly prescriptive, others have embraced it as a set of tools, among other things, for analyzing and communicating about concepts and facts.
The field of pragmatics, which grew out of the pragmatist philosophy, is concerned with how words and sentences are understood by listeners in a given context. It includes the study of the ways that ambiguity, vagueness, indexicals and demonstratives, and turn-taking conventions in conversation can affect how we understand what speakers mean when they use language.
People acquire pragmatic knowledge through their everyday experiences. It’s what allows them to politely hedge a request, cleverly read between the lines, and negotiate turn-taking norms in conversation. This pragmatic knowledge also helps them navigate ambiguity, which is a central feature of language. People develop pragmatic skills throughout their lives, but deafness or autism can have a negative impact on these abilities.
While a number of philosophers have contributed to the development of pragmatism, John Dewey is considered the father of pragmatism. In his book Experience and Nature, Dewey argues that much of the debate about religion and science is caused by misunderstandings that make it impossible to answer questions about the mind and the nature of experience in a simple way.
Other prominent pragmatists have included Charles S. Peirce, William James, and Richard Rorty. The latter, in his 1979 work Philosophical Naturalism, developed a philosophy of naturalism that is a close relative to pragmatism, combining elements of radical empiricism and the idea that truth consists in the discovery of what works. His later work on Cultural Realism helped to resurrect and broaden the influence of pragmatism.
