Pragmatic (pr
In broad philosophical terms, pragmatism is sometimes presented as a method for clarifying and even dissolving intractable metaphysical and epistemological disputes. The down-to-earth pragmatist suggests that bickering metaphysicians should get in the habit of posing the question, “What concrete practical difference would it make for me and my rival(s) to be right or wrong?” The answer to this question provides an empirical justification for a particular worldview or theory of reality. However, the pragmatist will also maintain that all human knowledge is inherently contaminated by the introduction of concepts and descriptions; there is no such thing as an objective, non-conceptual form of experience.
The pragmatic approach to saving wildlife is to leave food and water around for the animals, rather than to try to keep the animal wild and free. To be pragmatic is to be practical and sensible, such as making sure that you have extra keys made, just in case.
Philosophers who have embraced pragmatism have included Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey. The latter came to prominence as a member of the “Metaphysical Club” in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1870s. Other members of this loosely knit group of Harvard graduates were eminent scholars such as G.H. Mead and Oliver Wendell Holmes, as well as the proto-positivist Chauncey Wright and two fledgling philosophers who would become the first self-conscious pragmatists: Charles Goodman and William James Rorty.
A resurgence of interest in pragmatic ideas is due, in part, to the fact that applied fields such as public administration, political science, leadership studies and conflict resolution are increasingly using pragmatist methods to emphasize the connection between thought and action. In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of pragmatics has drawn the attention of a number of disciplinary sages, including anthropologists, linguists and sociologists. The various pragmatic approaches include formal and computational pragmatics; theoretical and applied; game-theoretic, clinical and experimental pragmatics; intercultural, interlinguistic and neuropragmatics; and historical pragmatics. Each of these approaches offers its own unique perspective on the complexities of human pragmatics. For more information, see the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s article on Pragmatic. Also, see the wikiPragmatics page. The Pragmatics project aims to bring together researchers from across these diverse communities in order to share research on pragmatics and its implications. It is funded by the AHRC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council. For further information please contact the organizers of this project, Victoria Fromkin and Peter McLaren. The project is also affiliated with the Center for the Study of Argument and Rationality at the University of Chicago.