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Word Unpacked.

pragmatism

noun [ˈpɹæɡməˌtɪzəm]
pronunciation CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, open source

Pragmatism is a practical approach that judges ideas and plans by how well they work; in philosophy, a tradition linking the meaning of ideas to their practical effects.

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Definitions

  1. A way of dealing with situations that looks for workable, realistic solutions rather than ideal or purely theoretical ones.
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  2. In philosophy: a tradition, mainly American, holding that the meaning of an idea lies in its practical effects and that a belief is true to the extent that it works when acted on.
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  3. In politics and management: readiness to adapt principles or plans to circumstances in order to get results.
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  4. Historically, in writing about history: a method that explains events by their causes and effects and draws practical lessons from them.
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Examples

Usage

In everyday English pragmatism is usually a compliment. It describes someone who looks at the facts, accepts limits of time, money and people, and chooses the option that can actually be carried out. A manager praised for pragmatism is one who gets things done without waiting for perfect conditions. The word appears often in business writing, political commentary and reviews, and the adjective pragmatic is even more common than the noun.

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The word can also carry a critical tone. When a writer speaks of cold pragmatism or mere pragmatism, the point is that practical calculation has pushed aside principles, loyalty or feelings. A government that drops a promise because it has become inconvenient may defend its decision as pragmatism, while its opponents call it opportunism. Context decides which reading is meant, so it helps to look at the adjectives around the word.

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In philosophy pragmatism is the name of a school of thought associated with Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey. James gave a series of lectures published in 1907 as Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking. Pragmatists ask what difference an idea makes in experience and treat that difference as the key to its meaning. Followers of the school are called pragmatists, and the philosophical sense is often written as American pragmatism to separate it from the everyday one.

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The 1913 edition of Webster, printed after James's lectures, still gives only an older and narrower definition: the quality or state of being pragmatic and, in literature, the pragmatic or philosophical method. Its example comes from a historian who says that a small detail belongs to the pragmatism of the history, meaning its explanation of causes and effects. The same dictionary records a pragmatist simply as one who is pragmatic.

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Word forms

Regular forms according to English morphology (editorial description); the noun is mostly used without a plural.

word forms

przypadek forma
singular pragmatism
plural pragmatisms

Word forms: Editorial team

Collocations

Synonyms · Antonyms

Synonyms practicality, realism, common sense, practicalness, expediency
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Antonyms idealism, dogmatism, impracticality
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Etymology

An English coinage that adds -ism to pragmatic. Skeat (1910) explains pragmatic as well practised, fit for business, active, and traces it through French pragmatique and Latin pragmaticus to Greek πραγματικός, skilled in business, from πρᾶγμα (pragma), a deed or thing done, and the verb meaning to do; he cross-refers to practice. Webster (1913) gives Latin pragmaticus with the senses busy, active and skilled in business, especially in law and state affairs, and lists pragmatism as the quality or state of being pragmatic.
source W. W. Skeat, An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., Oxford 1910, open source
also Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913, open source

Related words

Related entries

Questions and answers

What does pragmatism mean?

Pragmatism means dealing with things in a practical, realistic way and choosing solutions that work in the actual situation. In philosophy it is also the name of a school that tests beliefs by what they change in experience.

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Is pragmatism a positive or negative word?

Usually positive: it suggests good sense and a focus on results. It turns negative when someone is accused of giving up principles for convenience, as in phrases like cold pragmatism or mere pragmatism.

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Who founded philosophical pragmatism?

The tradition is usually traced to Charles Sanders Peirce and was made widely known by William James, whose lectures appeared in 1907 under the title Pragmatism. John Dewey developed it further, especially in education.

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What is the opposite of pragmatism?

In everyday use the usual opposite is idealism, acting on ideals regardless of practical limits. Dogmatism, holding to fixed doctrines whatever the results, is another common contrast.

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