Pragmatism

Oh and Pete I love the writings of William James, you know the guy who invented the term Pragmatism, and I strongly recommend his book Pragmatism.

Hickey remarks vanish (revised) EAGEAGEAG 2009

The attitude which he calls Pragmatism he defines as follows: "The whole function of philosophy ought to be to find out what definite difference it will make to you and me, at definite instants of our lives, if this world-formula or that world-formula be the true one" (Pragmatism, p. 50).

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

Pragmatism is often accused of denying the existence of "truth" (small t-- it does, in fact, deny the existence of Truth), but in Art as Experience John Dewey offers an account of truth through the following analysis of Keats's famous lines -- "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty, — that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'" -- from Ode on a Grecian Urn:

John Dewey's *Art as Experience* 2010

Pragmatism is often said to be a distinctively American philosophy.

Matthew Yglesias » Linker Replies Again 2007

Pragmatism is something which bothers and torments me.

Uplifter Charleston 2006

In a paper contributed to the "Popular Science Monthly" in 1878 entitled "How to make our Ideas clear", Mr.C. S. Peirce first used the word Pragmatism to designate a principle put forward by him as a rule to guide the scientist and the mathematician.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

The account of truth given in my volume entitled Pragmatism, continues to meet with such persistent misunderstanding that I am tempted to make a final brief reply.

Meaning of Truth William James 1876

Pragmatism is great but it’s no substitute for leadership.

Matthew Yglesias » The Outlook and the Economy 2010

On the other hand, “Pragmatism” is a code word that signals one’s belief in tenets of statist faith: a “living constitution,” elite based control, gnostic utopianism, outcome based education, population control, amorality/multiculturalism . . .

Obama, knave or fool, latest edition 2010

In her contribution to the ERIAL tome, called "Pragmatism and Idealism in the Academic Library," Thill wrote about the tension between library pragmatism -- the desire to satisfy the minimum requirements of a research assignment -- and library idealism, which glorifies the tedious unearthing and meticulous poring-over of texts.

Study: College students rarely use librarians' expertise 2011