Pragmatic is a word that means “down to earth.” It’s used to describe someone who is concerned with practical issues rather than abstract ideas. Pragmatic people get things done—they don’t waste time analyzing big picture problems and are more interested in addressing immediate issues. Pragmatists are often hard-working and efficient. They are often businesslike, but they can also be pragmatically idealistic.
Philosophically, pragmatism is a philosophy of inquiry that emphasizes the value of what works. Its central tenet is that truth comes from a combination of experience and the ability to make sense of it. As a philosophical framework, it is sometimes called American pragmatism because many of its founders were American.
The defining feature of pragmatics is that it considers the context of language use to determine meaning. It focuses on speakers’ intentions, the situations that motivate their utterances, and the ways in which their utterances manage to communicate those intended meanings to their listeners. In this way, it is different from semantics, which concerns the underlying meanings of words.
Although the term pragmatic has a wide range of applications, it is particularly useful when discussing the relationship between semantics and pragmatics. The two disciplines are distinct from one another, but they have some overlap. For example, both pragmatics and Theory of Mind (ToM) involve the ability to infer the mental states of others and ourselves.
While some philosophers have criticized pragmatism for flirting with relativism, it is not a flat-out rejection of truth. For example, neo-pragmatists such as Rorty and Putnam offer ways to incorporate epistemological realism into pragmatic theory. This realism is a form of natural realism that leaves open the possibility that some true statements do not correspond to a state of affairs (e.g., empirical statements).
Moreover, the neo-pragmatists have developed a theory of truth that is consistent with their pragmatism. This pragmatic theory of truth combines elements of empiricism, fallibilism, verificationism, and Quinean naturalist metaphilosophy to construct a coherent, viable, and functional epistemology.
As a result, neo-pragmatism is a coherent and viable philosophy that can be used in real-world settings. This is one reason why it has become so popular in the business world and among managers.
The pragmatic approach to solving problems is often more successful than an idealistic, entrenched perspective. For example, it is often more effective to settle a lawsuit than take the case to trial. Taking this pragmatic approach allows businesses to save money and avoid the stress of a long legal battle. It can also be beneficial for a business to take a pragmatic approach to saving wildlife, as it can reduce the financial and environmental costs of protecting endangered species. In addition, it is often more effective for government leaders to take a pragmatic approach to budgeting, as it can minimize political fallout from cutting funding. This is why many politicians take a pragmatic approach when dealing with difficult decisions.