A pragmatic person is someone who deals with real-world situations. A pragmatic person takes into account things like results and consequences when deciding what actions to take in a situation. They are less interested in ideas and theories than they are with how things actually work. Taking a pragmatic approach to life can help you get ahead in the workforce and be more successful in your personal endeavors.
Pragmatic is a philosophical philosophy that emphasizes the importance of practical experience and action. It believes that gaining practical knowledge is the most valuable kind of learning. This means that students should spend as much time as possible in hands-on activities and problem-solving so they can learn how to apply what they have learned in the classroom to their everyday lives.
Unlike traditional philosophical approaches, pragmatics does not seek to explain the origins of knowledge or the nature of truth and reality. Instead, pragmatics focuses on examining how people use language to communicate with each other and the ways in which this language can change or be modified. The underlying goal of pragmatics is to find out how to make communication more effective by understanding the different ways that people use language.
The pragmatic research paradigm underlying the project examples presented here aligns with classical pragmatism, as formulated by Dewey and latter-day pragmatists (Morgan, 2007). It allows researchers to steer clear of metaphysical debates about truth and reality and focus on developing ‘practical understandings’ of concrete, real-world issues. It also encourages researchers to embrace multipronged approaches, recognizing that complex social problems require multifaceted solutions.
In addition to its emphasis on the utilisation of practical knowledge, a key tenet of pragmatics is the acknowledgement that the validity of any type of research method or approach is dependent upon its utility in meeting the goals of a specific study. As such, a pragmatic research framework is particularly suitable for mixed methods or multimethod research studies, where quantitative and qualitative data are collected together and analysed jointly.
The development of pragmatics has influenced the work of contemporary philosophers, who have been referred to as ‘neo-pragmatists’ or ‘postmodern pragmatists’. These include Richard Rorty, Hilary Putnam, Nicholas Rescher, Jurgen Habermas, and Susan Haack, among others. Their work has highlighted the continuing value of Peirce’s pragmatism, as well as the enduring significance of James and Dewey’s more radical ideas.