Pragmatic is a word that describes a philosophy that is more interested in results and consequences than ideals and theory. It is an approach that values practical application of ideas and is a form of realism. It is sometimes referred to as American Pragmatism, as it had many proponents from America, including John Dewey and William James. Its influence extends into the field of public administration, where it is used to help administrators solve problems.
The word pragmatic is derived from the Greek pragma, meaning “deed.” It has historically described philosophers who were more concerned with real-world applications of ideas than with abstract notions. It also refers to people who are more practical and down-to-earth, such as the four-year-old who wants a unicorn for her birthday rather than a dollhouse. A person can be considered pragmatic, but it is important to distinguish this term from being amoral or unethical. It is possible to be moral and pragmatic at the same time, and it is possible for a person to act pragmatically while still considering the consequences of their actions on other people.
There are many schools of pragmatics, including formal and computational, theoretical and applied; game-theoretic, clinical, and experimental pragmatics; and intercultural and sociocultural pragmatics, to name just a few. All of these approaches share the common feature that they examine how language is used in a specific context, rather than what the language might mean in a literal sense. This contrasts with semantics, which considers the conventional or literal significance of words and sentences.
In terms of philosophical pragmatism, the term was first pressed into service by William James in an 1898 essay, though he scrupulously swore that it had been coined three decades earlier by his colleague and fellow pragmatist C. S. Peirce (1839-1914). James and Peirce were both members of the “Chicago club,” a group of liberal thinkers that included G. H. Mead, Charles Sanders Moore, and John Dewey.
One of the central tenets of classical pragmatism is that something is true only in so far as it works, which does not necessarily exclude religious beliefs and can be understood to mean that prayer has a soothing effect on people. This position on truth makes pragmatism an antidote to the philosophical extremes of skepticism and existentialism.
Pragmatism has been challenged by other philosophers, most notably by Ludwig Wittgenstein and Russell Quine. However, the majority of contemporary philosophers retain a qualified enthusiasm for parts of the pragmatist legacy. In fact, a variety of philosophical movements draw on some aspect of pragmatism, including social and natural realism, and objectivist epistemology. Moreover, the term pragmatic has been employed in a broad range of disciplinary fields and is considered to be a major influence on research in linguistics and sociology. For example, scholars of organizational theory and public administration use pragmatism to help them develop programs that work in a practical, problem-oriented environment. In addition, the pragmatist approach helps inform the study of science.