Philosophy of Pragmatism

Origin: Greek word ‘Pragma’ means ‘Action’. 

• Emerged at the end of the 19th century. 
• First developed by Charles Pierce in 1857. His famous paper “How to make our ideas clear”. 
• William James developed Pragmatism later as a Theory of Truth. 
• Famous Pragmatic thinker- John Dewey and F.C. Schiller. 
• Position of Pragmatism is between Empiricism and Rationalism. 

Basic Fact about Pragmatism

‘A thing is what it does’. That means the workability of an idea determines the truth. 

The meaning of a word or idea is determined by its successful conversion into the mode of operation. 

Meaning of Ideas

• Ideas are clear when it leads to some actions. 
• Ideas are true when they can be verified. 
• Ideas are true so long as it is profitable to our lives. 

Pragmatist thinkers and their Area of work

Charles Pierce– Logic and Science

William James– Psychology and Religion 

John Dewey– Ethics and Social thought 

Charles Pierce on Pragmatism  

Charles S Pierce

 1878 – “How to make our ideas clear’

Charles Pierce has made a distinctions between clear and obscure conceptions, and between distinct and confused conceptions.

A clear idea is defined as one which is so apprehended that it will be recognized wherever it is met with, and so that no other will be mistaken for it. If it fails for this clearness, it is said to be obscure.

A distinct idea is defined as one which contains nothing which is not clear. Clearness of ideas is not sufficient, but that they need also to be distinct, i.e., to have nothing unclear about them.

For an individual, a few clear ideas are worth more than many confused ones.

William James on Pragmatism

William James

Work– ‘will to believe’, ‘The varieties of Religious Experience’

• He claims that man has the right to choose his belief either that has proof or that has the absence of evidence.
• Ideas become true in so far as they help us to make successful connection between various parts of our experience. 
• Its influence is more on individuals. 

John Dewey on Pragmatism

John Dewey

• Thinking is always instrumental in solving problems.
• Theory: ‘Instrumentalism’ or Experimentalism’.
• Thoughts are merely instruments to better life. 
• Reflective thoughts are involved in transforming a practical situation. 
•  Thinking is the act of trying to achieve an adjustment between man and his environment.
• When an idea is verified practically and if it produces the expected results, then it is true, otherwise it is false.
• Belief is good or bad on the basis of its future consequences. 

Concluding Views 

Pragmatism has got three fundamental characteristics viz., 

Practicalism– Practicalism means every idea should be tested only in practice in the actual life. 

Futurism– Every idea can be tested to be true or false only with reference to future consequences.

Relationism– Truth according to pragmatists is not absolute, universal, eternal and unchanging but dynamic, relative and purely temporal.

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