Pragmatic is a word that describes an approach to ideas or actions that is practical and reasonable. It contrasts with idealistic, which refers to an idea that isn’t realistic or sensible. Pragmatic ideas or concepts have gained traction in the field of philosophy, and the pragmatic view is often applied to political positions or decisions.
The term pragmatic first appeared in print about a century ago, when the psychologist William James used it to promote his own philosophical viewpoint. He scrupulously swore that the word had been coined by his colleague C. S. Peirce (1839-1914). Pragmatism presents a third alternative to the analytic and Continental philosophical traditions, and has since grown in popularity among philosophers.
Unlike the logical positivists and other analytic philosophers, who focused on the definition of terms and the rigor of arguments, pragmatists looked at real-world applications of philosophy and the value of ideas. They also emphasized that knowledge is not just an objective process of reason but an active involvement with experience. James called this ‘experience-based epistemology,’ and he promised that pragmatism would overcome the current dilemma in philosophy, which he characterized as a clash of temperaments between the tough-minded empiricist commitment to experience and the tender-minded desire for a priori principles that appeal to ratiocination.
Semantics, syntax, and semiotics are three of the areas of linguistic study that are sometimes confused with pragmatics. These are the areas that focus on the literal linguistic meaning of expressions, how those expressions are combined into sentences, and the way that they are used in specific social or physical contexts. Pragmatics focuses on all aspects of the use of language to communicate and interact with other people.
The field of pragmatics also includes speech act theory, developed by J. L. Austin and Paul Grice, which explains how we use natural language to carry out certain types of activities. These activities include telling stories, asking questions, and requesting information. In addition to these forms of communication, pragmatics also considers nonverbal cues such as facial expressions and body language.
In the larger field of philosophy, pragmatists have made important contributions in political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of law, aesthetics, and the history of philosophy. The pragmatist concept of truth, which is a community of inquiry free from distortions by power and ideology, is central to Habermas’ discourse ethics and to his work in the philosophy of science (Korta and Perry 2008).
In contemporary philosophy, many liberatory philosophical projects in fields such as feminism, ecology, Native American philosophy, and Latin America look to pragmatism for inspiration. In this area, the pragmatists are more critical of classical pragmatism and are working to develop a more nuanced version of the approach, which is now referred to as New Pragmatism. Several of these New Pragmatists, including Robert Brandom, are refocusing pragmatics to focus on the role of meaning. They also hope to reintegrate analytic philosophy with pragmatism by using their understanding of linguistic semantics and the pragmatic theory of truth.