Pragmatic – pronounced “pragma” – is a way of understanding how language works in a social context. It goes beyond semantics which is the literal meaning of words or sentences, and takes into account social, cultural and situational factors that influence how language is used. It is this pragmatic component of our communication that allows us to politely hedge a request, cleverly read between the lines in a conversation or negotiate turn-taking norms in group discussions. It also helps us to navigate ambiguity in our everyday lives.
Pragmatism is an overarching philosophical orientation that is sometimes paired with methodologies such as ethnography and case study research. Choosing an overarching philosophical approach at the design stage of a research project involves significant decision-making around establishing the research objective, framing the research problem and selecting a methodology. For both of the projects discussed below, our choice to adopt pragmatism as an overarching philosophy was heavily influenced by our desire to generate useful and actionable knowledge anchored in respondent experience and of practical relevance to the organizations involved in each case study.
It is this pragmatic orientation that distinguishes pragmatism from other philosophical movements. It is a movement that has been called American pragmatism because many of its early proponents were Americans, including proto-positivist Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), psychologist William James (1842-1910) and anthropologist John Dewey (1859-1952). It was also a key theme in the writings of philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1864-1926).
While there is no unified pragmatist creed (no neat list of articles or essential tenets endorsed by all pragmatists) a number of themes and theses have loomed large in the pragmatist pantheon. The most prominent of these include the idea that truth and reality are derived from experience, the importance of context, and the role of human action in understanding and shaping reality.
In the sphere of organizational processes, pragmatism is well-suited to the exploration of complex, dynamic processes that are often difficult to document in the form of formal documents or other rhetorical forms of communication. Rather than viewing these processes as being predetermined and unchanging, pragmatist inquiry is able to surface the hidden complexities that are sometimes buried in the day-to-day practices of staff and in how these activities may be interpreted by those in leadership roles. This is particularly useful in the field of NGOs as they frequently are not able to afford formal documentation of their operations. By leveraging the pragmatic principle that ‘experience, knowing and action are interrelated’ pragmatist inquiry is able facilitate a more holistic and inclusive understanding of organizational process. This is a crucial step in enabling organizations to achieve their desired outcomes.
