Pragmatism

Pragmatism is a school of philosophy which originated in the United States in the late 1800s. Pragmatism is characterized by the insistence on consequences, utility and practicality as vital components of truth. Pragmatism objects to the view that human concepts and intellect represent reality, and therefore stands in opposition to both formalist and rationalist schools of philosophy. Rather, pragmatism holds that it is only in the struggle of intelligent organisms with the surrounding environment that theories and data acquire significance. Pragmatism does not hold, however, that just anything that is useful or practical should be regarded as true, or anything that helps us to survive merely in the short-term; pragmatists argue that what should be taken as true is that which most contributes to the most human good over the longest course. In practice, this means that for pragmatists, theoretical claims should be tied to verification practices--i.e., that one should be able to make predictions and test them--and that ultimately the needs of humankind should guide the path of human inquiry.

Pragmatism in history

A useful general account of pragmatism's origins during the late 19th and early 20th centuries is Louis Menand's The Metaphysical Club. According to Menand, pragmatism took form largely in response to the work of Charles Darwin (evolution, ongoing process, and a non-epistemological view of history), statistics (the recognition of the role of randomness in the unfolding of events, and of the presence of regularity within randomness), American democracy (values of pluralism and consensus applied to knowledge as well as politics), and in particular the American Civil War (a rejection of the sort of absolutizing or dualizing claims that provide the philosophical underpinnings of war).

Related Topics:
19th - 20th - Louis Menand's - Charles Darwin - Evolution - Statistics - Democracy - American Civil War

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Some scholars have noted a similarity between pragmatism and some elements in Buddhist philosophical thought, see Buddhism. William James himself noticed the similarity, writing in The Varieties of Religious Experience that "I am ignorant of Buddhism and speak under correction ... but as I apprehend the Buddhistic doctrine of Karma, I agree in principle with that."

Related Topics:
Buddhism - The Varieties of Religious Experience - Karma

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