Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Philosophy A movement consisting of varying but associated theories, originally developed by Charles S. Peirce and William James and distinguished by the doctrine that the meaning of an idea or a proposition lies in its observable practical consequences.
- noun A practical, matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Pragmatical character or conduct; officiousness; busy impertinence.
- noun In history, same as
pragmatic method . Seepragmatic , a. - noun In philosophy, a method of thought, a general movement or tendency of thought, and a specific school, in which stress is placed upon practical consequences and practical values as standards for explicating philosophic conceptions and as tests for determining their value and, especially, their truth.
- noun A theory of the nature of truth, namely, that the correspondence between fact and idea which constitutes truth consists in the power of the idea in question to work satisfactorily, or to produce the results intended by it.
- noun A metaphysical theory regarding the nature of reality, namely that it is still in process of making, and that human ideas and efforts play a fundamental rôle in its making: the equivalent of humanism as a metaphysical term.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being pragmatic; in literature, the pragmatic, or philosophical, method.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The pursuit of
practicality overaesthetic qualities; a concentration onfacts rather thanemotions orideals . - noun politics The
theory that politicalproblems should be met with practicalsolutions rather thanideological ones. - noun philosophy The
idea thatbeliefs are identified with theactions of a believer, and thetruth of beliefs with success of those actions in securing a believer'sgoals ; thedoctrine that ideas must be looked at in terms of their practicaleffects andconsequences .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (philosophy) the doctrine that practical consequences are the criteria of knowledge and meaning and value
- noun the attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal truth
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Although they continued to refer back to Peirce's 1878 paper as the source of pragmatism, and they continued to regard concepts and hypotheses as functioning as instruments, they did not always think of ˜pragmatism™ as denoting ˜the principle of Peirce™.
Pragmatism Hookway, Christopher 2008
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I wish it might do so; for its author admits all MY essential contentions, simply distinguishing my account of truth as 'modified' pragmatism from Schiller's and Dewey's, which he calls pragmatism of the 'radical' sort.
Meaning of Truth William James 1876
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But in fact I wholeheartedly endorse Rohan's critical pragmatism; indeed, this kind of pragmatism is at the very core of my philosophy of criticism, along with John Dewey's insistence that it is the aesthetic experience of literature that is the immediate object of critical appreciation, an experience that can be satisfied in a multitude of ways.
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Second, pragmatism is the thing human society can least afford at this stage in our development.
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It looks like pragmatism is a political cop-out; compromise is certainly viewed that way.
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As British ministers deliberate how they will vote in the Security Council, they are confronted with the choice between what is morally right – supporting a Palestinian state – and hypocrisy justified in the name of pragmatism.
A Palestinian state is a moral right | Observer editorial 2011
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A similar chilly pragmatism is at work in those homeowners now using the courts to remain in a house they defaulted on months or years ago.
House Afire Jr. Holman W. Jenkins 2010
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As a citizen and voter, I expect a minimum level of common sense and pragmatism from the people elected to represent me.
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Pure pragmatism is the antithesis of populism, and Washington tars politicians with mark of the unprincipled politician.
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As a citizen and voter, I expect a minimum level of common sense and pragmatism from the people elected to represent me.
thinkcharlene commented on the word pragmatism
Law & Order - Season 13, Episode 5 - "The Ring"
May 29, 2007