Pragmatic is an adjective used to describe a person or situation that prioritizes practicality and efficiency over theoretical principles or ideals. Pragmatism is also a philosophy that views the meaning and truth of concepts through their practical consequences rather than purely theoretical or abstract principles.
The idea of being pragmatic has long been important in English language teaching. Teachers are often encouraged to focus on pragmatics when creating lesson plans, especially when they teach a variety of communication functions such as greetings, asking for permission, giving advice, apologizing, and making a request.
When describing pragmatics, teachers must be careful not to confuse semantics with pragmatics. Semantics are the literal meaning of a word or phrase, while pragmatics are how that word or phrase is interpreted by a listener in a social context. For example, a daughter may tell her mother that eating cookies makes you gain weight, but the mother interprets this to mean the daughter is calling her fat. This is because the social context in which the daughter says the word is more important than the actual words she uses.
For many students, pragmatics is an area of study that is very confusing. The pragmatics of a language include all the social cues and non-verbal behaviors that a speaker uses in order to convey meaning to a listener. This includes things like body language, tone of voice, and how the speaker uses words to express their feelings.
Pragmatism is a philosophical movement that was developed by American philosophers Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. The philosophy is known for its emphasis on pragmatism in ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics.
Peirce and James emphasized the importance of experience in determining what is true or false, while Dewey took an active role in promoting a broad-based alethic pluralism in which no single concept can be considered definitively “true.”
A central component of pragmatism is the notion that all knowledge is acquired through experience. This is often contrasted with the idealism that dominates most areas of philosophy, where knowledge comes from pure logic and reason.
Another core element of pragmatism is the belief that truth and reality are based on what actually works in the real world. This is contrasted with the idealism that most other forms of philosophy promote, which is rooted in abstract or theoretical concepts, often at the expense of real-world application.
Because of this, pragmatism has become an important philosophy for people who work in fields such as engineering, medicine, law, business, and technology. These people must be able to make decisions that are most likely to produce positive results in the real world. The pragmatic approach to morality, which emphasizes the importance of a person’s overall well-being and that all choices have consequences, is also an integral aspect of pragmatism. This is why pragmatism has been embraced by liberatory philosophers in fields such as feminism, ecology, Native American philosophy, and more. This philosophy has also been adapted to the needs of organizations such as government and corporations.