Pragmatic is the study of what’s practical – and that means things like what words mean, what people intend when they use those words, and how the particular context in which an utterance occurs influences its meaning. Pragmatics tries to find ways of understanding all these different factors.
This article offers an overview of the field of pragmatics and some examples of its applications in education. It also outlines how to teach pragmatics by developing techniques and activities that raise learners’ cultural awareness of the socio-linguistic variables and values underlying a communicative event.
The word pragmatic comes from the Greek
A key aspect of pragmatism is that the nature and value of knowledge is determined by its practical consequences. That’s why the pragmatists were so concerned with putting their ideas to the test. They viewed the practice of philosophy as a method for settling metaphysical disputes that might otherwise be interminable. Unless some practical difference would follow from one side’s being right, they saw no point in disputing it at all.
In the twentieth century pragmatism regained popularity, partly because of the scientific revolution then taking place around evolutionary theory, and partly because of Dewey’s advocacy of a pragmatic approach to teaching and learning. First generation pragmatists were keen observers and sometime participants in this new development, and they focused heavily on theorising inquiry, meaning and the nature of truth.
One of the defining figures in modern pragmatism was Charles Sanders Peirce, who developed his own version of pragmatics. He was a philosopher, psychologist and social reformer who founded the Philadelphia College Settlement in 1896. His work inspired James and Dewey, and his writings were widely included on reading lists for students of philosophy in the nineteenth century.
Later pragmatists tended to move away from Peirce’s idealist metaphysics and towards more neo-Hegelianism, with the most notable example being Sellars. However, more recently the philosophical centre of gravity has moved out of North America. In South America, Scandinavia and central Europe a vibrant pragmatist research community has flourished.
Pragmatics is an interdisciplinary field, and it spans the fields of philosophy, psychology, sociology, linguistics and education. It has close connections with the philosophy of science, the epistemology of religion and philosophy of law, among other areas. It’s also a key influence on the philosophy of human experience, with many contemporary philosophers combining pragmatism with phenomenological insights, such as those of Hegelianism and existentialism. It also has relevance to education, because it’s important for teachers to know about how and why children develop pragmatic skills. This will allow them to make informed decisions about what sort of language learning opportunities to provide for their pupils. It will also enable them to create a classroom environment that’s conducive to collaborative learning and the development of pragmatic competence.
