Pragmatic is a study of what people really mean when they use language and the ways that speakers can convey their meanings to hearers. In the world of hypnosis, pragmatics looks at things like what the client really wants to achieve and what methods might work best for each individual case.
A pragmatist is someone who values efficiency and practicality, so they focus on solutions that are likely to deliver results. They also look at the context of a situation and consider all the factors that might be involved in it. For example, a therapist might try different methods to see which ones deliver the most effective results for their clients. They also take into account the client’s beliefs and preferences, which can affect their outcome.
A good example of pragmatics is celestial navigation. A long time ago, people used to think that the earth was the center of the universe, and that stars went around it in weird loops. But then someone realized that if you know how fast the stars move, and you can calculate their positions based on that, then you can determine where you are in relation to them. This is a form of pragmatics, and it allowed ships to sail the open seas without needing to have any landmarks in sight (Collins 2017).
What Is Pragmatic?
The pragmatist perspective on human experience and action allows researchers to uncover social realities that may not have been revealed by more theoretical approaches. This is because pragmatism emphasizes the dynamic nature of experience, where understanding leads to actions and action leads to further understanding. As a result, pragmatist inquiry is iterative and requires detection of a problem that may not be apparent from existing documentation or rhetoric within the respondent organization (Morgan 2014a).
Moreover, a pragmatist approach allows for the development of research questions and methodologies that are grounded in respondent experiences. For instance, the pragmatist research method has been shown to provide better insight into how organizational processes are carried out, and how these practices relate to overall performance (Morgan 2009).
Finally, a pragmatist view is more inclusive of diverse perspectives, including those that are not traditionally considered to be part of the academic discipline of sociology. This is because pragmatism promotes a holistic, social-justice approach to inquiry that seeks democracy, fairness and freedom from oppression for all people (Goldkuhl 2012).
The three selected pragmatic principles are discussed in the following sections, and how they can be applied in practice through two project examples. These projects demonstrate the utility of pragmatism as a useful framework for navigating qualitative, applied social research on NGO processes.