Pragmatic is a word that describes choices or actions that are considered practical and reasonable. The word is often used to praise people who take a middle of the road position on political issues. This means that they don’t just take the view of their own party or camp, but they also take arguments from the other side into consideration. Pragmatic is also often used to describe someone who is able to make compromises in order to get things done.
The term Pragmatic was popularized by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) and his colleague William James (1842-1910). Their work formed the foundation for a third alternative to the analytic and continental philosophical traditions. They developed pragmatism in discussions at a so-called ‘Metaphysical Club’ that took place in Harvard around 1870. Both James and Peirce regarded pragmatism as a method, principle or maxim for clarifying concepts and hypotheses and for identifying empty disputes. They were both, however, very different in how they understood the term.
For example, both emphasized the importance of experience but interpreted this concept in very different ways. For James, ‘experience’ referred to the way we learn about the world through our interactions with it and how this learning shapes our thoughts and behaviours. For Peirce, ‘experience’ was something that could be observed or measured empirically and therefore was not subjective as is thought to be the case for concepts such as ‘truth’ or’reference’.
A further important difference between James and Peirce was their understanding of how ‘pragmatism’ should be articulated. James developed a system of notation which enabled him to express his pragmatist ideas in a clear and systematic manner. This led to the development of a school of pragmatic philosophy that was known as the Chicago School. The Chicago School influenced a later generation of philosophers who also described themselves as pragmatists, including Josiah Royce (1905-1916).
More recently, a more radical revision of pragmatism has emerged under the title of neopragmatism. This has been influenced by developments in epistemology and semantics and has also taken into account the work of philosophers such as Wilfrid Sellars, Quine, Richard Rorty, and other continental thinkers. The new neopragmatism is sometimes compared to the analytic philosophy of language developed by Wittgenstein, but is very different from it in that it focuses on linguistic meaning and the role of speech acts in social interaction rather than on metaphysics, epistemology and ontology.
Contemporary neopragmatists have explored a variety of practical issues that include ethics, philosophy of science and education. In particular, they have emphasized the need for a more holistic approach to knowledge, one that embraces all of human activity and experience. They have also developed a set of methods for studying this type of knowledge. These methods are referred to as “pragmatic tools.” These pragmatic tools enable us to study the relationships between different aspects of knowledge, such as its structure, dynamics and meaning. This enables us to develop an integrated knowledge of the world that goes beyond simply describing what is and is not the case.