1. Having or showing practical considerations or consequences; having a practical point of view. 2. Philosophical Pragmatism
A theory of language that focuses on the ways that meaning is determined by the use of context in conversation and other social interactions, rather than by a set of rules or an absolute truth. Pragmatics is related to semantics, which studies the actual objects or ideas that words refer to, and syntax, which examines relationships among signs or symbols.
In linguistics, pragmatics is the study of how people use language in order to achieve particular goals or functions. It focuses on the ways that we interpret and respond to ambiguity in context, and it involves the understanding of how people negotiate turn-taking norms in conversation, determine what is meant by an ambiguous sentence, and handle other issues of grammatical meaning in a natural and meaningful way.
The term pragmatic is also used to describe a particular attitude, which can be described as a practical approach to life and a respect for the values of real experience. Pragmatic people are generally considered sensible and fair-minded. They take into account the impact that their decisions may have on other people, including those who might not agree with them. This is in contrast to idealism, which is the belief that all things will eventually be good and just.
Having a pragmatic outlook is important because it allows us to deal with the reality of the world around us. It also enables us to make decisions in a way that is beneficial to the most people possible. For example, it is important to be pragmatic when negotiating with other people in business. It is best to avoid being too idealistic in this situation, because it could lead to a conflict of interests.
The philosophy of pragmatism developed out of the American philosophy schools of Emerson, James, and Dewey. In the 1950s and 1960s, Quine’s (1908-2000) landmark article “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” challenged positivist orthodoxy, but mainstream analytic philosophers tended to ignore pragmatism until the 1980s. This was largely because of the fact that it is difficult to reconcile the pragmatist’s commitment to a theory of knowledge with an uncompromising attachment to the rigors of analytic philosophy. In recent years, though, there has been a revival of interest in the pragmatist tradition.