Many people prefer to stay away from philosophy, as philosophical thoughts generally proceed through abstract concepts. However, especially in the 20th century, a trend was developed, pragmatism, for philosophy to be included in life and even to feed capitalism. Pragmatism argues that it is best to do an action in the most realistic and practical way.
Of course, pragmatism is not a superficial system of thought to be described in a simple sentence. Yes, it is a system. In this established system, there is a philosophical approach based entirely on hedonistic morality. Although this philosophical trend, which is based on action, relationship and principles, seems new, it actually has a long history. Let’s see what pragmatism is, what it advocates, who its representatives are in all details.
Let’s start with a basic definition; What is pragmatism?
Pragmatism is actually a school of philosophy that aims to understand the world. He argues that any philosophical concept should be tested by some kind of scientific experiment and used only if it is useful. In other words, pragmatism looks at whether something works and evaluates accordingly. Therefore, he has a hedonistic sense of morality.
To be more precise, according to pragmatism, action comes before doctrine. Experiences and ideas are evaluated on fixed criteria. In this respect, it was also used as a method of finishing work, especially in the United States in the 20th century. Of course, this usage is not in accordance with the philosophy of the business.
To see the emergence of pragmatism, it is necessary to go back a bit:
- Polybius
Pragmatism is derived from the Greek word pragma, which means action and relationship. The texts written by the Greek philosopher Polybius, who is estimated to have lived in the 1st century BC, were called pragmatic for the first time. Of course, it is thought that this name was given because of the usefulness of what was written rather than its current meaning.
The Philosophy of History, written by the 18th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, is considered the second pragmatic approach after Polybius. Names such as Johannes von Müller and William James derived concepts such as term and practice from the root of pragmatism.
The person who introduced pragmatism as a philosophical doctrine was the American philosopher Charles S. Peirce. Peirce interpreted this doctrine through the German word pagmatisch used by Immanuel Kant in his philosophy of education. Of course, the usage points of the two are quite different.
So, what does pragmatism advocate?
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
When we came to the first years of the 20th century, the pragmatism system of thought had infiltrated the United States almost like a poison. Everyone in the country’s fields of law, education, politics, social, art and religion had begun pragmatic practices. Of course, because things got so complicated, pragmatics started to defend different theses.
Those who advocate a sensitive idealism have developed a pragmatism about reality and attunement to reality. In other words, these people have completely moved philosophy away from metaphysical understanding and evaluated it in the hierarchy of change and action. Some have also enriched these thoughts with an empiricist point of view.
As put forward by Pierce, “Our idea of anything is our idea of its logical implications.” There were those who argued that there were verbal differences and theoretical unpredictability over his thinking. Different approaches have been put forward about the verification process, based on the fact that the meaning does not have a definite satisfactory component.
Of course, pragmatics also got their hands on the faith issue. There were those who said that the truth was actually hidden under the veil of belief. But this thought was not very pragmatic because what we call truth is what actually works. The truth that is hidden, hidden, useless under something is meaningless.
It is possible to encounter many different perspectives in modern pragmatism:
- Charles Sanders Peirce
Pragmatism is actually a kind of rebellion. Because the thought systems in the 19th century world had extreme intellectual approaches and were closed to the outside. Some philosophers who wanted to break free from this system extended the mind’s subjective experience to such a degree that its consequences became metaphysical. Thus, fixed and abstract concepts were rasped.
In fact, the theory of evolution plays a big role in pragmatism. Because this theory clearly revealed everything we needed to know according to pragmatists. Important philosophers such as John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain and John Venn have a great influence on the pragmatism established on this basis.
The work done by Immanuel Kant and later by Pierce, George Berkeley, who was called the pioneer of pragmatism, provided a framework for pragmatism. In fact, some philosophers in the modern period have taken some of the early works beyond regulative ideas and accepted them as doctrines.
It is necessary to evaluate classical pragmatism under a separate heading:
- John Dewey
So far, we have evaluated the comments on pragmatism in terms of how they are influenced, influenced and reflected. But it would be good to give some information about classical pragmatism in order to understand it clearly. In fact, it would be best to give separate information about Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and John Dewey.
For Charles Sanders Peirce, pragmatism is a small part of a general theory. For Peirce, who said that a scientific thought system should be developed, correct beliefs can only be reached in this way. Pragmatism is only one of these ways.
Unlike Peirce, William James said that ideas and beliefs change the way we experience our aspirations and goals. In fact, the theological understanding of mind plays a very dominant role in his pragmatism.
John Dewey reformulated pragmatism and added a social side. This system is more logical and more humane. This system integrates both scientific methods and results as well as values and goals. Of course, this approach has been defined as a guaranteed claim by different philosophers, since it is not a provable case.
We answered questions such as what pragmatism is, which evaluates knowledge and actions on the basis of their usefulness, what it advocates, and who are its representatives. Of course, it’s like an ocean where we get lost easily when we dive into pragmatism. In this article, we aimed to provide basic information only for those who are introduced to pragmatism for the first time.
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