Pragmatic is a philosophical movement that emphasizes practical results over ideals. Pragmatism is often contrasted with idealism, where the ideals are what people should strive for. Many people, however, navigate life with a balance of pragmatic and idealistic.
The pragmatists believe that an ideology is true only if it works, and unworkable ideas should be rejected. The philosophy also asserts that reality is in a state of flux, and that the only way to change reality is through action.
Applied to the field of social science, pragmatism is an epistemological perspective that emphasizes the need for knowledge that is actionable and practical in nature. Its application to research has resulted in a more flexible and diverse set of methods for researchers (see the section on Methodology).
One of the earliest pragmatist philosophers was Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who is considered to be the first self-consciously pragmatist. He argued that there is no new knowledge to be gained by analyzing definitions, and that words only have meaning in the context of the uses to which they are put. He also emphasized that a maxim of pragmatics is that “saying what you mean and not saying what you don’t mean” makes communication work (see the article on Seigfried’s The Pragmatic Maxim).
Another pragmatist is William James (1842-1910), who is known for his theory of “pragmatics,” an area of study in the philosophy of language that examines speakers’ communicative intentions and the strategies hearers use to determine what these intentions are. It is also concerned with the ways in which the uses of a word are modified by the context in which it is used and how this influences meaning and understanding.
When a pragmatist approaches a problem, he or she starts with an ethics-based pursuit of democracy, equality, and justice for all people, regardless of the social hierarchy of the situation. This is the core of the American Pragmatists’ political philosophy, and it is the foundation upon which they construct their ethics-based approach to all human problems.
The pragmatist philosophy is an eclectic and wide-ranging philosophical tradition that draws on many sources of inspiration. Its influence extends well beyond philosophy and into politics, law, education, business, sociology, and psychology. It is a philosophy that is always in flux, as new thinkers continually adapt and refine it.
For example, in the early 20th century, a group of Harvard-educated men met to discuss philosophical issues in a club called The Metaphysical Club. Among its members were proto-positivist Chauncey Wright, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, and two then-fledgling philosophers who would become the first self-conscious pragmatists: Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Their work helped create the pragmatist philosophical school of thought. Today, pragmatism is a popular philosophy that is adopted by liberatory projects as diverse as feminism, ecology, and Native American philosophy, among others. It has also attracted a growing number of practitioners from around the world. These practitioners seek to translate the principles of pragmatism into their respective disciplines and practice.