Pragmatism

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Pragmatism

• developed in the U.S.
• after the Civil War (ca. 1865)
• no longer content merely to reflect European
  philosophy
• a new approach for a new and vigorous young
  nation

• 3 key thinkers
• William James
• Charles Sanders Peirce
• John Dewey

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William James (1842-1910)

• trained first as a medical
• doctor, then a psychologist

• finally became a philosopher
• and the chief advocate of
• Pragmatism

• James shared the American distrust of purely
  theoretical or intellectual activity, and asked

What is the point of theorizing? What difference
does it make? Why is it important to bother with
the mind games of theorists?
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What is Pragmatism?

• It is
• a method for evaluating intellectual problems,
  and
• a theory about the kinds of knowledge we are
  capable of acquiring.

• The Starting Point
• Before determining if any given philosophical
• claim is true, James thought it first
  necessary
• to determine the cash-value of the claim.

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Cash-Value

• The cash-value of our ideas is to be found
  in the use to which they can be put.

• With regard to any theory, we can ask what
  difference it would make if I believed it, and
  what consequences it would have for my behaviour
• If it would not make the slightest difference
  whether I believed a theory to be true, and it
  had no effect on my actions at all, then the
  theorys cash-value would be zero the theory
  is useless

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• Theories ought to be judged, then, in terms of
  their success at helping us solve problems --
  they are the instruments we use.
• Suppose you get lost in the woods, and use your
  knowledge of the suns position, the direction
  youve been going, previous info. about the
  terrain, etc., to develop a theory about how to
  find yourself again.
• the cash-value of your theory will be judged
  according to your success in avoiding becoming a
  midnite snack for Smokey the Bear

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• By contrast, many classical philosophical
  theories have little or no cash-value.
• What difference does it make if you believe (or
  disbelieve) that the universe is really only one
  vast mind?
• It would change none of the daily problems you
  face, and give you no clues about how to resolve
  them.
• At best, such a metaphysical belief might make
  you a little bit happier (or sadder, if you
  disbelieved) beyond that, it has almost no
  cash-value.

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• Reflections like these led James to a simple
  conclusion
• A theory is true if it works.

• Traditional (rationalist) philosophers like
  Plato held that the truth of ideas is not
  dependent on human experience -- an idea is true
  or false whether anyone knows it or not.
• James argued that the only meaningful way to
  gauge the truth of an idea is to see whether it
  works.
• claims about absolute, objective truth are
  meaningless, since they can never be proven by
  experience

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Pragmatic Truth

• For a pragmatist, then, truth isnt something
• a idea has -- it is something that happens
• to an idea.

• Before you discover whether an idea, theory, or
  belief works, it is neither true nor false.
• As you test out the theory or idea, it becomes
  true or false, or more true or less true.
• In other words, truth is not something static
  and unchangeable -- it grows and develops with
  time.

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• This view of truth fits quite well with modern
  science, which progresses by means of
  experimental trial error through a succession
  of increasingly accurate theories.
• Newton, for example, worked out the laws of
  motion, and for centuries his theories were
  considered true because they worked.
• When Einstein showed that the classical laws of
  physics didnt quite work in certain situations
  (esp. as one approaches the speed of light), our
  understanding of the truth about motion changed.

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Pragmatism and Ethics

• For the pragmatist there is no fixed world
• to be revealed by experience there is only a
• continuous quest to find workable solutions to
• lifes problems.

• The way to discover what is morally right or
  wrong is the same as when seeking truth a good
  action is one that works to solve a given
  problem.
• e.g. Is the right way to solve ones money
  problems to rob a bank?

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• Presumably, one pragmatist would consider all
  the possible unsatisfactory consequences for
  oneself and others (i.e. imprisonment) and
  conclude that bank robbery is the wrong
  solution.
• On the other hand, another might just as readily
  conclude the solution is right -- IF they get
  away with the crime.

• Clearly, then, pragmatism offers no absolute
• moral principles -- the good is what
• works, and judging this involves a purely
• subjective evaluation.

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Criticisms

• At what point can you tell whether an idea
• has worked?

• Some pragmatists respond that you must look to
  the long-term consequences, but
• those consequences may go on forever
• the idea might work only sometimes

• We need some criteria, a moral framework but
  this is just what pragmatism tells us we cant
  have (because its meaningless) .
• There is a danger of falling into a morality
  based on personal preference (Well, it works for
  me!).

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Source Popkin, R.H. and Stroll, A. Philosophy
Made Simple. New York, Doubleday, 1993. See
chapter 1.