Pragmatic is an important aspect of language use that addresses how and when people are likely to use particular utterances in real-life situations. It is an area of study that can be applied to a variety of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, education, and the philosophy of language and communication. The word pragmatic comes from the Greek preposition “pragma,” meaning “of practical consequence.” Pragmatics is a broad philosophical trend that determines the meaning and truth of ideas through their direct, practical consequences rather than through strict theoretical principles. It can also be a scientific discipline that focuses on the interaction between language and context, and it may be applied to a variety of fields such as sociology, history, and science.
Many philosophers have influenced the development of pragmatics, and there are several different schools of thought that address pragmatics in different ways. For example, one view is that the semantic and pragmatic elements of an utterance are interrelated, and this interaction is facilitated by communicative intentions (as defined by Grice) and their fulfillment. Another approach is to consider utterances in terms of their effects on the audience, which may or may not be communicated explicitly. This approach to pragmatics can be applied to a wide range of disciplines, and the journal Pragmatics encourages contributions from these diverse areas, such as linguistic theory, semantics, discourse analysis and conversation analysis, ethnomethodology and sociolinguistics, philosophy, social psychology, cognitive science, media studies, and anthropology.
Among the most notable pragmatists are Dewey and James, who viewed knowledge as an active, pragmatic process of adapting to reality and controlling it rather than as a fixed, transcendent, and objective entity. They advocated the notion that anything that works on a practical level is considered true, and they were critical of metaphysical beliefs that have not proved their utility.
The pragmatic philosophy of John Dewey has a strong influence on educational philosophy and theory, as evidenced in the work of educational theorists like James and Mead. Many social and behavioral sciences have ties to pragmatism, such as the utilitarian perspective of John Rawls, which emphasizes equality, fairness, and freedom. In the field of psychology, pragmatism has been embraced by behaviorists and functionalists who believe that human knowledge is learned through experience.
Pragmatism is a central philosophy in the study of communication, and it has had an impact on many other fields as well. For example, organizational leadership, public administration, and research methodology have incorporated pragmatism in their practice because it emphasizes the connection between thought and action. Other academic fields that have embraced pragmatics include sociology and education, although the connection between these two has been less obvious than in other disciplines. It has been suggested that a major reason for this is that pragmatics addresses the questions that are of immediate interest to practitioners, and that these issues have practical implications. The study of pragmatics has also provided valuable insights into the broader context of communication and culture.