What does pragmatism mean?
Pragmatism is an approach to ideas, decisions, and problems that emphasizes practical consequences rather than obedience to a system of rules or abstract principles. In everyday use, calling someone pragmatic usually means that they are realistic, flexible, and chiefly concerned with what will work. The term also names a major philosophical tradition associated with Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey, which argued that the meaning and validity of concepts are connected to the consequences they produce in experience. Pragmatism is therefore more than a synonym for compromise: it asks whether an idea is useful, testable, and capable of explaining or improving experience. Its connotations depend on context. It may suggest admirable adaptability and practical judgment, or, less generously, a willingness to surrender principles to immediate interests. The word is valuable because it identifies a distinctive way of evaluating both belief and action.
nounPragmatism is the view that the meaning or value of an idea should be judged by its practical consequences and results. In general use, it refers to an approach that favors workable, practical solutions over rigid adherence to abstract principles.
- An approach or attitude that prioritizes practical consequences, workable results, and compromise over rigid adherence to abstract principles.
- The philosophical position that ideas should be understood and assessed through their practical effects and consequences.
"Her pragmatism led her to adopt whichever proposal was most likely to produce a workable agreement."
"The committee's pragmatism produced a modest agreement without resolving every theoretical disagreement."
"Dewey's pragmatism treated education as a process through which people learn to investigate experience and solve real-world problems."
The plural is uncommon and is used mainly when referring to different pragmatic doctrines or approaches.
"The book contrasts competing pragmatisms in medicine, law, and education."
William James called pragmatism “the philosophy of the real”: an invitation to judge ideas by what they actually do in the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pragmatism come from?
Pragmatism comes through Latin from Greek pragma, meaning “deed” or “act,” and from the related Greek adjective pragmatikos, meaning “concerned with deeds” or “practical.” The English word emerged in the early 19th century, initially in philosophical contexts, and later became associated with Peirce, James, and Dewey. It shares its root with English forms such as pragmatic and pragmatical.
Related word forms
How pragmatism is actually used
Pragmatism is usually formal or intellectual in register. It can be approving when it describes flexible, effective problem-solving, but it may be mildly critical when it implies that important principles are being abandoned for expediency. There is no significant regional difference in standard usage.
Easily confused with pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical or practical approach to ideas and decision-making, whereas pragmatics is the branch of linguistics concerned with how language is used in particular contexts.