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Pragmatic Genuine Philosophy Pragmatism is a philosophy that emphasizes experience and context. It might not have a clear ethical framework or foundational principles. This can result in a lack of idealistic aspirations or transformational changes. In contrast to deflationary theories, pragmatic theories do not reject the notion that statements are correlated to real-world situations. They simply clarify the role that truth plays in everyday activities. Definition Pragmatic is a term used to describe things or people that are practical, logical and sensible. It is often contrasted with idealistic which refers to an individual or idea that is based on ideals or high principles. When making decisions, the sensible person takes into consideration the real world and the current circumstances. They focus on what is achievable and realistically feasible rather than trying to achieve the ideal course of action. Pragmatism is a new philosophical movement, emphasizes the importance that practical consequences are crucial in determining the significance, truth or value. It is a third alternative to the dominant continental and analytic tradition of philosophy. Founded by Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and Josiah Royce, pragmatism developed into two distinct streams of thought, one that tended towards relativism while the other toward realist thought. One of the central issues in pragmatism concerns the nature of truth. While many pragmatists agree truth is a crucial concept, they are not sure what it means and how it operates in the real world. One approach, influenced heavily by Peirce and James, concentrates on how people resolve questions and make assertions and gives priority to the speech-acts and justifying projects that language-users use in determining the truth of an assertion. Another approach, that is influenced by Rorty and his followers, focuses on the relatively mundane functions of truth—how it is used to generalize, admonish and warn—and is not concerned with the full-blown theory of truth. This neopragmatic approach to the truth has two flaws. First, it flirts with relativism. Truth is a concept that has so many layers of rich and long-standing tradition that it's unlikely its meaning could be reduced to a few commonplace uses as pragmatists do. Furthermore, pragmatism seems reject the existence of truth in its metaphysical aspect. This is evident by the fact that pragmatists like Brandom, who owes much to Peirce and James but are silent about metaphysics while Dewey has made only one reference to truth in his extensive writings. Purpose Pragmatism is a philosophy that aims to provide an alternative to the analytic and continental philosophical traditions. Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and their Harvard colleague Josiah Royce (1860-1916) were the first to initiate its first generation. These classical pragmatists focused on the theory of inquiry as well as the nature of truth. Their influence spread through many influential American thinkers including John Dewey (1859-1952), who applied the concepts to education as well as other aspects of social improvement, as well as Jane Addams (1860-1935) who created social work. In recent years the new generation of philosophers have given pragmatism more space for debate. Many of these neopragmatists are not classical pragmatists but they are part of the same tradition. Robert Brandom is their main persona. He focuses his research on semantics and philosophy of language, but draws inspiration from the philosophy of Peirce, James, and others. Neopragmatists have a distinct perception of what is required for an idea to be real. The classical pragmatists focused on a concept called 'truth-functionality,' which states that an idea is genuinely true if it is useful in practice. Neo-pragmatists instead focus on the concept of 'ideal justified assertibility', which states that an idea is true if it is justified to a particular audience in a specific way. There are, however, some issues with this theory. A common criticism is that it can be used to support all kinds of absurd and illogical theories. A simple example is the gremlin idea that is a truly useful concept that works in the real world, but it is utterly unfounded and probably untrue. It's not a major problem however it does highlight one of the main flaws of pragmatism that it can be used to justify almost anything, and this is the case for many ridiculous ideas. Significance When making decisions, pragmatic means taking into consideration the world as it is and its circumstances. It is also used to refer to a philosophy that emphasizes the practical consequences when determining meaning, truth or values. William James (1842-1910) first used the term pragmatism to describe this perspective in a speech he delivered at the University of California, Berkeley. James scrupulously swore that the word had been invented by his friend and mentor Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) however, the pragmatist view quickly earned a name of its own. The pragmatists opposed the sharp dichotomies in analytic philosophy like mind and body, thoughts and experience, and synthesthetic and analytic. They also rebuffed the idea of truth as something fixed or objective, instead describing it as a continuously evolving socially-determined notion. Classical pragmatics primarily focused on the theory of inquiry, meaning and the nature of truth however James put these themes to work in examining truth in religion. A second generation shifted the pragmatist approach to education, politics and other facets of social development under the great influence of John Dewey (1859-1952). In recommended you read , the Neopragmatists have tried to put the concept of pragmatism within a larger Western philosophical framework. They have analyzed the connections between Peirce's views and those of Kant, other 19th-century idealists, and the emerging science of evolution theory. They also have sought to understand the role of truth in an original epistemology of a posteriori, and to develop a metaphilosophy that is pragmatic and includes an understanding of meaning, language and the nature of knowledge. Nevertheless, pragmatism has continued to develop, and the a posteriori epistemology that it developed is still considered an important distinction from traditional methods. The defenders of pragmatism have had to grapple with a number of objections that are just as old as the pragmatic theory itself, but which have received greater exposure in recent times. They include the notion that pragmatism collapses when applied to moral questions and its assertion that “what works” is nothing more than a form of relativism with a less-polished appearance. Methods The epistemological method of Peirce included a pragmatic elucidation. Peirce saw it as a method of destroying false metaphysical notions like the Catholic conception of transubstantiation Cartesian certainty-seeking strategies in epistemology and Kant's notion of a 'thing-inself' (Simson 2010). The Pragmatic Maxim, according to many modern pragmatists, is considered to be the best one can expect from a theory about truth. They are generally opposed to deflationist theories of truth which require verification before they are valid. Instead, they advocate an alternative method, which they refer to as “pragmatic explication”. This involves explaining the way the concept is used in practice and identifying requirements that must be met in order to recognize it as true. This method is often criticized as a form of relativism. It is not as extreme as deflationist options and can be a useful way to get around some of relativist theories of reality's problems. As a result, a variety of philosophical ideas that are liberatory, such as those associated with eco-feminism, feminism, Native American philosophy and Latin American philosophy – are now looking to the pragmatist tradition as guidance. Quine for instance, is an analytical philosopher who has taken on pragmatism in a way that Dewey could not. It is important to recognize that pragmatism, though rich in historical context, has some serious shortcomings. In particular, pragmatism is unable to provide any meaningful test of truth, and it collapses when it comes to moral questions. Quine, Wilfrid Solars and other pragmatists have also criticized the philosophy. Nevertheless, it has been reclaimed from obscurity by a diverse range of philosophers, including Richard Rorty, Cornel West and Robert Brandom. These philosophers, while not being classical pragmatists, owe much to the philosophy and work of Peirce James and Wittgenstein. Their works are worth reading for those interested in this philosophy movement.