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🛠️ A practical approach 📚 A truth theory
pragmatism

pragmatism

2 7.9
A view that an idea is true if it works in real life
  • noun
  • /ˈpræɡmətɪzəm/
  • Formal
translation icon : pragmatismo
  • West sees the moral, political, and prophetic thrust of pragmatism as its most vital legacy.
  • philosophy of pragmatism
  • American pragmatism
  • tradition of pragmatism

He also claims that Cicero's approach to truth is pragmatism.

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Examples

  • The decentralization, weakness, and pragmatism of American parties contribute to the independence of candidates and elected officials.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Yet the ambivalences as well as the creative energies of pragmatism were there at its inception.

    Academic text (1991)

  • But he incorporated in his theory the pragmatism of a people that respect many values and seek many goals.

    Academic text (1991)

  • On the part of the Eritrean leadership, vision and pragmatism are also required.

    Academic text (1991)

  • A spirit of pragmatism emerged among its foreign-policy makers as well as the nation's public.

    Academic text (1991)

  • West's evaluation of this turning point in the history of pragmatism is instructive.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Poirier's concern is pragmatism and its influence upon Emerson, William James, Robert Frost, Gertrude Stein, and Wallace Stevens.

    Academic text (1993)

  • His pragmatism helped the team overcome obstacles and reach their goals efficiently.

  • In negotiations, she valued pragmatism over ideals, aiming for practical agreements that benefited everyone.

  • Pragmatism means focusing on solutions that work, rather than getting lost in theoretical discussions.

Surface Forms

pragmatism singular
pragmatisms plural

Morphology

pragmatism = pragmatic (semi-transparent) = pragmatic + ism

The philosophical sense is related to 'pragmatic' but refers to a technical doctrine whose full implications are specialized and not directly inferable by all learners.

Etymology

Pragmatism comes from the Greek word pragma, which means 'action' or 'a thing done', and you can see the same idea in the English words pragmatic and practice. In philosophy, pragmatism says an idea is true if it works in real life, so the name reminds us to judge ideas by their practical results.