Pragmatic focuses on how people interact with each other and their environment. It is about making choices that are necessary, functional, and logical. People who are pragmatic tend to be practical and results oriented. They are able to think logically and stay calm in stressful situations. They are also willing to compromise in order to get what they want. For example, they may be willing to take a risk that has a high probability of failure in order to achieve a desired outcome. They understand that they cannot have everything they want and are able to prioritize.
The term “pragmatism” was first used to designate a philosophical outlook about a century ago, when William James (1842-1910) pressed it into service during an 1898 address at the University of California (Berkeley). James scrupulously swore that the name had been coined earlier, in the 1870s, by his compatriot and friend Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914).
The early pragmatists were part of what came to be known as The Metaphysical Club, a circle of Harvard-educated men who met regularly for informal philosophical discussions. Among the members of this group were the proto-pragmatists Chauncey Wright (1830-1875), Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935), and Charles Sanders Peirce. The pragmatists forged a unique brand of philosophy that fused elements of existentialism, hedonism, naturalism, and materialism into a theory of knowledge and action.
While pragmatism is best known for its original a posteriori epistemology, its influence extends to a number of other areas of philosophy. For instance, the work of pragmatists such as John Dewey (1859-1952) and George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) influenced educational thought and practice in the United States.
In the field of psychology, pragmatism has contributed to understanding and teaching social skills. Specifically, it has helped to develop models of language and learning that are grounded in the notion that communication is an active process that requires both parties to interpret the meaning of each other’s actions. It has also informed the work of developmental psychologists and has led to the development of new approaches to therapy.
A growing literature in the biological sciences and cognitive psychology suggests that young children are innately pragmatic and develop their ability to communicate based on the context of their interactions with each other. In addition, recent research on the development of human language has shown that very young infants are capable of judging the intent behind the words they hear and use their own prior experiences to understand the meaning of new words.
The study of pragmatics is important in education because of its focus on the social skills and communication skills that are essential to a child’s ability to successfully interact with others and to be able to learn. Specifically, it has been important in developing models of language acquisition and in the training of teachers and school administrators in how to facilitate communication between students of different cultural backgrounds and linguistic levels. In addition, the study of pragmatics has provided insight into how to teach children to interpret subtle social cues and develop appropriate responses to them.