Pragmatic is a word often used in positive ways to praise choices or actions that are practical and reasonable. It’s also the name of a philosophical school that assesses truth in theories or beliefs in terms of their successful practical application. The word pragmatic is derived from the Latin verb pragma, which means “to deal with something realistically or practically.”
Pragmatists understand knowledge as inseparable from action within the world and hold that a theory’s value is measured by its ability to achieve desired results in concrete practice. They believe a theory must also be able to explain and predict future outcomes.
Unlike traditional, logical philosophy, which takes abstract principles into account, pragmatism emphasizes practical applications of concepts. This philosophical school of thought also places heavy emphasis on the role of experience in human understanding. Pragmatism was most heavily influenced by Charles S. Peirce (1839–1914).
The pragmatist school argues that all philosophical concepts are essentially tools for coping with the world and that the value of a concept or belief is determined mainly by its utility. According to this approach, a theory must be useful or otherwise pay its way in the real world of physics and science. This utilitarian assessment of truth contrasts with mainstream epistemology, which focuses on the idea that knowledge is justified by a rational process that mirrors reality.
Although pragmatism enjoyed a period of great popularity during the Deweyan era, it declined when analytic philosophy became a dominant methodological framework in most departments. Nonetheless, the idea is still alive and well in many circles. Richard Rorty’s spirited rejection of mainstream epistemology birthed a new incarnation of pragmatism that is sometimes called neopragmatism. In addition to Rorty, a number of contemporary philosophers have sought to revive classical pragmatist ideals of objectivity (e.g., Hilary Putnam and Robert Brandom).
A branch of philosophy known as pragmatics aims to analyze the meaning of language and how it is used in the real world. Pragmatics is distinct from other linguistic fields such as semantics, syntax and semiotics. Semantics examines rule systems that determine the literal linguistic meaning of expressions; syntax describes how words are combined to form sentences with specific meaning; and semiotics focuses on the use of signs and symbols to convey meaning.
Pragmatists argue that these other linguistic areas are too focused on describing the structure of languages rather than exploring their usage in a given context. The pragmatists assert that the true meaning of an utterance lies in its use within the world, and that this world is defined by our interactions with it and how we interact with each other. This explains why pragmatics is so crucial to human understanding and interaction. It enables us to navigate the complexities of the social and physical worlds in which we live. Without pragmatics, we wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other. Without communication, there would be no civilization. And without civilization, there could be no hope for a better world.