Pragmatic is a philosophical approach that promotes practicality in action, thought and decision making. It is a form of philosophy that was primarily developed by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James along with the sociologist, philosopher and educator Josiah Royce. Pragmatism is often seen as a third alternative to the analytic and ‘Continental’ traditions in philosophy. It is a philosophical view that focuses on the pragmatic nature of human interaction, including language and understanding, rather than concentrating on abstract concepts such as truth and reference.
This is often viewed as a positive trait, as it means that people are more likely to be successful in life, as they will have a firm grasp on what needs to be done and how to achieve it. In fact, this pragmatic outlook has become so popular that the word ‘pragmatic’ is now included in the Oxford Dictionary of English.
As a philosophical movement, pragmatism has developed into an extensive field of study, with a wide range of academic and applied areas. For example, some scholars of education have incorporated a pragmatic epistemology into their teaching, using it as the structure for the classroom process that is known as problem-centred pedagogy. This involves the teacher facilitating the students’ contact with some phenomenon that proves genuinely puzzling, then guiding them through a cycle of inquiry which (if all goes well) resolves the question to everyone’s satisfaction.
Other areas that have adopted pragmatism include cognitive science, sociology and anthropology. These disciplines use pragmatism to examine social interactions and how they affect behaviour, as well as to explore the nature of knowledge itself. In particular, pragmatists have challenged the idea that meaning and truth are objectively defined, arguing that these concepts are dependent on context and experience.
It is also widely used in the area of communication and language, examining how we communicate with others and what meaning we attach to words. This is the domain of a discipline called pragmatics, which considers a speaker’s communicative intentions, how these are expressed in speech, and how those utterances are responded to.
In addition, pragmatists have a strong influence on the theory of knowledge. They believe that a person is only able to gain true and accurate knowledge about the world around them, if they have the skills and experience to be able to interpret the evidence that surrounds them.
Pragmatists have an understanding of the importance of putting ideas into practice, and this is reflected in their philosophies. This is why pragmatism has become an important philosophy of learning, which seeks to develop the learner’s ability to be creative and think outside the box in order to solve problems. This is a valuable skill that can be applied to a number of areas, such as the design and evaluation of curriculums. It is also a key part of effective communication and collaboration. For example, the ability to politely hedge a request, read between the lines, negotiate turn-taking norms in conversation, and navigate ambiguity are all examples of pragmatic competences.