Pragmatic is a word you may hear people use to describe themselves or others as practical, realistic, and sensible. It can also be used to contrast with idealism, which is a desire for big-picture ideals and uncompromising principles. The pragmatic approach is often seen as the more successful one, which is why some people are encouraged to be more pragmatic in their everyday lives. The problem is that it can be hard to tell the difference between being pragmatic and being dogmatic, and there are many areas where pragmatism can cause confusion.
The field of pragmatics explores the relationship between meaning and context. This is a complex area of philosophy, but the central questions that pragmatics seeks to answer include: What does it mean for something to be meaningful? How does meaning change over time and in different contexts? What are the rules and limits that apply to this process? How do people understand one another? How do we make sense of ambiguous language? The field of pragmatics is not restricted to just linguistic phenomena; it encompasses the whole of human knowledge, action, and communication.
As a philosophical movement, pragmatism offers an alternative to both analytic and continental or ‘Continental’ traditions of philosophy. It was first developed by Peirce and James, but has since evolved into a rich and diverse movement with a wide range of applications in contemporary philosophy. Among other things, pragmatism has given rise to critical theory and discourse ethics. It has also become a major guiding force in liberatory projects such as feminism, ecology and Native American philosophy.
While most people recognize that pragmatism implodes when applied to empirical issues such as science and politics, less obvious is the fact that it also fails when it comes to ethics and morality. For example, it can be argued that utilitarianism and relativism are simply different forms of the same flawed philosophy.
A third flaw is that pragmatism is incompatible with any philosophy based on rationality. For example, pragmatism can be easily confused with utilitarianism and rationalism, which are both forms of a naturalistic philosophy that prioritizes human welfare. This is a serious problem, because it can lead to incoherence and chaos when competing values are given priority over each other.
Nevertheless, pragmatics remains a valuable tool in understanding human communication and knowledge. Its concepts of pragmatic meaning, semantics, and the role of context are particularly useful in our everyday lives. These concepts allow us to politely hedge a request, cleverly read between the lines of a text, or negotiate turn-taking norms in conversation. They can also help us navigate ambiguity in a news story or political debate.
While pragmatics can seem abstract and esoteric, it is vital to our daily lives. Without it, we would have no way of making sense of our experiences, evaluating arguments or finding solutions to problems. It’s no wonder, then, that so many of us find it difficult to put aside our pragmatic knowledge when faced with an important decision.