Pragmatic is an approach to philosophy and life that values results over ideals. The term is often used to describe a person’s mindset, but it can also be applied to the philosophical doctrine of pragmaticism.
Pragmatism originated in the United States around 1870 and now presents a growing third alternative to analytic and ‘Continental’ philosophical traditions worldwide. Its first generation was initiated by the so-called ‘classical pragmatists’ Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) and his close Harvard colleague William James (1842-1910), who developed and ably popularized it. Their work was heavily influenced by Peirce’s elaborations on signs and the community of inquirers, and by his epistemological outlook – an anti-Cartesian, fallibilist explication of the norms of inquiry.
Unlike semantics, which studies the meaning of words and sentences, pragmatics is about the context of language use. It investigates what people are trying to communicate and the strategies they employ in order to do so successfully. Linguists who specialize in pragmatics are known as pragmaticians.
The notion of communicative intention — as formulated by the late philosopher of language Paul Grice (1900-1974) — is central to pragmatics. It entails the idea that an utterance is only meaningful to its addressee if it meets certain conditions: that it be relevant to the discussion at hand, that it be truthful, that it be unbiased, and that it be expressed in a way that ensures it will be understood.
It also requires that an utterance have a potential to produce a positive result for the speaker. This is important because pragmatics addresses how we use language to achieve goals in our everyday lives. If we were to remove this aspect of the discipline, it would be very difficult to comprehend why we speak the way we do and what our linguistic behavior actually accomplishes in our day-to-day interactions.
A pragmatic approach to life and thought enables us to take into account our circumstances and make the best decisions for our well-being. It is this kind of mindset that leads to the success of entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Warren Buffett, political leaders such as Angela Merkel and Malala Yousafzai, and other successful people who are known for their pragmatism.
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