Pragmatic is one of the most misunderstood and misused words in the English language. This is largely due to the fact that the word is often misspelled, and there are multiple ways in which it can be spelled. In addition, the word is frequently abused by people who want to sound smart without actually understanding what they are saying.
The term Pragmatic refers to how a person acts and speaks in a way that takes into account the consequences of their actions for all involved. For example, a person who murders their creditor in order to avoid paying them may seem pragmatic from one perspective, but the truth is that a life was lost and the community has been deprived of one of its productive members. This is not a morally acceptable thing to do.
A pragmatist values practicality and efficiency in all of his or her decisions. In a clinical setting, this means that every treatment plan is based on evidence and the most likely results for each individual patient. It also means that a clinician doesn’t jump to conclusions about a patient’s behavior or beliefs.
Pragmatism originated in the United States around 1870 and presents a growing third alternative to both analytic and ‘Continental’ philosophical traditions worldwide. Its first generation was initiated by the so-called ‘classical pragmatists’ Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who first defined and defended the view, and his close friend and colleague William James (1842-1910), who further developed and ably popularized it. James’ Harvard colleague Josiah Royce (1855-1916), although officially allied with absolute idealism, was also a pragmatist.
In recent years, a number of analytic philosophers have worked to integrate pragmatism with the mainstream analytic tradition. These scholars include Richard Rorty (1933-2007) and Robert Brandom (b. 1940), who has published such works as Making It Explicit, Articulating Reasons, Between Saying and Doing, and Perspectives on Pragmatism.
Many of the same concerns that classical pragmatism addressed are still central to neopragmatism, such as the role of experience in knowledge acquisition and the role of language in communication and meaning. But neopragmatism has also developed its own distinctive ideas about metaphysics, epistemology, and the nature of truth.
It is important to understand the nuances of each philosophy in order to be able to apply them appropriately in your own practice. This will help you to better evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. It will also allow you to develop your own philosophically informed clinical practices that are grounded in sound reasoning and evidence. This will in turn improve your outcomes and the success of your patients.
