Pragmatic is a philosophy that focuses on human language and the implications of what people say, how they mean it, and how that relates to the world around them. Pragmatics takes into account the non-literal meaning of words, how a speaker interprets an utterance, and how different cultures interpret communication. It is also a philosophy that looks at what is practical in the world of humans, how people behave and act based on the consequences of their actions.
In the context of English classes, pragmatics is the ability to understand the implied and non-literal meaning of what someone says. It includes understanding turns of phrase, turn-taking in conversation, the negotiating of what is said and what is not said, as well as understanding how to politely hedge a request, read between the lines, or navigate ambiguity in context. Pragmatic knowledge allows us to understand how to use sarcasm and irony effectively, negotiate the rules of grammar, read a tone or body language in conversation, and more.
Some philosophers have used pragmatism to explore issues of truth, particularly the nature of religion. However, the majority of pragmatists have focused on the practical aspects of life and the way that humans behave. A major tenet of pragmatism is that truth is not something that can be proven by scientific experimentation. Instead, truth is whatever is objectively found to be true, as determined by the results of one’s actions and their subsequent effects. This is why a pragmatic view of religion may allow Christians to believe in Jesus while also allowing Muslims, Jews and Hindus to all be Muslim, Jewish or Hindu respectively, as long as they practice their faith.
Many of the early pragmatists were American. They formed a club called the Metaphysical Club, which included Charles Sanders Peirce, Chauncey Wright, and future Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, among others. The group was a kind of impromptu philosophical laboratory, where members discussed their ideas about the nature of reality and how to best approach it.
These early pragmatists shared an empiricist commitment to experience as the primary source of knowledge and the rejection of traditional foundationalism. But they also differed in their approaches to interpreting and verifying that experience. Some, like Sellars, Rorty and Davidson, were more inclined to take a theoretically idealistic view of reality; others, such as James, were more prone to a more pragmatically grounded approach that relied on rational thought.
In the twentieth century, pragmatism was largely eclipsed by analytic philosophy and, more recently, continental philosophy, but it has been making a comeback in recent years. A number of scholars are reintegrating pragmatism into their work by combining it with analytic principles, especially those of Peirce and Wittgenstein. A recent example is the work of Brandom, who uses a pragmatic model of language to address philosophical and theoretical issues, including epistemology, ethics, metaphysics and morality. This research has inspired a generation of scholars to apply pragmatism to other areas of philosophy and to other disciplines, such as law and medicine.
