Pragmatic is a word that describes a person who is concerned with practical considerations. The term is also used to describe a philosophical outlook that focuses on the consequences of ideas and actions. Someone who is pragmatic may be described as businesslike, efficient, and hardheaded. This is in contrast to someone who is dogmatic, which means they stick to a set of morals or beliefs. For instance, a four-year-old who wants a unicorn for their birthday isn’t being very pragmatic.
In the philosophy of language, pragmatics is a theory of utterance interpretation that addresses how we understand what people mean when they say things. There are different approaches to pragmatics, but the general line of thinking is that we must fill in the gap between what a speaker says and what they intend to convey by interpreting their context. Some scholars view pragmatics, much in the same vein as Grice, as a philosophy; others focus on its interaction with grammar; while still others look at it as an empirical psychological theory of utterance interpretation.
For pragmatists like James, something is true only insofar as it produces a result. In other words, a belief is not meaningful unless it can be used to bring about the things for which we believe. This is not a metaphysical position that denies the existence of transcendent realities, but it does leave room for the ontological claims of religions to be valid.
This neo-pragmatic approach to truth has generated some controversy. Some critics have argued that this is a form of relativism. However, the neo-pragmatists have responded that their approach to truth does not seek to be a full-fledged theory of truth. Instead, they have emphasized the role that truth plays in pragmatic endeavors and on the basis of this have sought to articulate some principles that are useful in understanding the ways in which we use and evaluate statements about the world.
The core of this approach is the pragmatic maxim, which states that hypotheses are clarified in terms of their implications for experience. This leads to a fallibilist, anti-Cartesian epistemology and an explication of the norms that govern inquiry. It also leaves open the possibility that not all true statements “correspond to a state of affairs,” and even those that do may do so differently in different situations.
For example, when Alice makes a decision about whether to pursue a graduate degree, she uses the pragmatic principle by assessing her goals and priorities, researching different programs, evaluating their financial implications, managing her time effectively, and considering her work-life balance. This way, she can make an informed choice that will maximize positive outcomes. In the end, she decides to continue her studies for the benefit of her career and life. This is an example of the application of pragmatism in a real-life situation.