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Pragmatic Genuine Philosophy Pragmatism is a philosophical system that is based on the experience and context. It may lack a clear set of foundational principles or a coherent ethical framework. This can result in a lack of idealistic aspirations or transformational change. Contrary to deflationary theories of truth, pragmatic theories of truth do not reject the idea that statements relate to states of affairs. They only clarify the role that truth plays in everyday endeavors. Definition The word pragmatic is used to refer to people or things that are practical, logical and sensible. It is often contrasted with idealistic which refers to a person or notion that is based upon high principles or ideals. When making decisions, the pragmatic person is aware of the world and the current circumstances. They concentrate on what is feasible rather than trying to achieve the ideal course of action. Pragmatism is an emerging philosophical movement that focuses on the importance of practical consequences in determining the truth, meaning or value. It is a third alternative to the dominant continental and analytic philosophical traditions. It was developed by Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and Josiah Royce, pragmatism developed into two distinct streams of thought, one tending towards relativism, the other to realist thought. One of the major issues in pragmatism is the nature of truth. Many pragmatists agree that truth is a valuable concept but disagree on how to define it or how it is applied in the real world. One approach, heavily influenced by Peirce and James, focuses on how people solve problems & make assertions, and gives priority to the speech-acts and justification projects people use to determine the truth of an assertion. One method, which was influenced by Rorty's followers, concentrates on the more mundane aspects of truth, like its ability to generalize, praise and be cautious, and is less concerned with an elaborate theory of truth. This neopragmatic view of the truth has two flaws. It firstly, it flings with relativism. Truth is a concept that has such a rich and long tradition that it's unlikely that its meaning can be reduced to mundane applications as pragmatists do. Another flaw is that pragmatism appears to be a way of thinking that denies the existence of truth, at least in its metaphysical sense. This is reflected in the fact that pragmatists such as Brandom (who is owed an obligation to Peirce and James) are largely silent on questions of metaphysics in Dewey's vast writings, whereas his works have just one reference to the question of truth. Purpose Pragmatism is a philosophy that aims to provide an alternative to the analytic and continental philosophical traditions. Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and their Harvard colleague Josiah Royce (1860-1916) were the first to introduce it's first generation. These classical pragmatists focused on theorizing inquiry and meaning, and the nature of truth. Their influence was felt by several influential American thinkers like John Dewey (1859-1952), who applied these theories to education as well as other aspects of social development, and Jane Addams (1860-1935) who created social work. In recent years, a new generation of philosophers have given pragmatism a larger platform to discuss. Although they differ from the classical pragmatists, many of the neo-pragmatists claim to be part of the same tradition. Their principal figure is Robert Brandom, whose work is focused on semantics and the philosophy of language, however, he also draws inspiration from the philosophy of Peirce and James. Neopragmatists have a distinct understanding of what it takes for an idea to be true. The classical pragmatists focused on a concept called 'truth-functionality,' which states that an idea is genuinely true if it is useful in practice. Neo-pragmatists instead focus on the idea 'ideal justified assertibility', which declares that an idea is truly true if it can be justified to a specific audience in a certain way. There are, however, some problems with this view. A common criticism is that it could be used to justify all kinds of absurd and illogical theories. The gremlin theory is a prime example of this: It's an concept that can be applied in real life but is probably unfounded and absurd. It's not a major issue however it does highlight one of the biggest flaws in pragmatism: it can be used to justify nearly anything, and this includes a myriad of absurd theories. Significance When making a decision, it is important to be pragmatic by taking into consideration the world as it is and its surroundings. It can also refer to the philosophical position that emphasizes practical consequences in the determination of truth, meaning or value. The term”pragmatism” was first used to describe this view about a century ago, when William James (1842-1910) pressed it into practice in a speech at the University of California (Berkeley). James claimed to have coined the term along with his mentor and colleague Charles Sanders Peirce, but the pragmatist view soon earned its own fame. The pragmatists rejected analytic philosophy's sharp dichotomies like mind and body, thought and experience, as well as synthesthetic and analytic. They also rejected the idea that truth was a fixed or objective, and instead viewed it as a continuously evolving, socially determined concept. Classical pragmatists focused primarily on theorizing inquiry, meaning and the nature of truth though James put these ideas to work exploring truth in religion. A subsequent generation applied the pragmatist approach to education, politics and other aspects of social development, under the great influence of John Dewey (1859-1952). The neo-pragmatists of recent years have made an effort to place pragmatism in a broader Western philosophical context, and have traced the affinities of Peirce's ideas with Kant and other 19th century idealists and the emergence of the science of evolutionary theory. They have also attempted to understand the role of truth in a traditional epistemology of a posteriori and to formulate a pragmatic metaphilosophy which includes a view of meaning, language and the nature of knowledge. However, pragmatism has continued to evolve and the epistemology of a posteriori that it developed is still considered an important departure from more traditional approaches. The people who defend it have had to confront a variety of objections that are as old as the pragmatic theory itself, but have received greater exposure in recent years. These include the idea that pragmatism is a flop when it comes to moral issues and its assertion that “what works” is nothing more than relativism, albeit with an unpolished appearance. Methods The epistemological method of Peirce included a pragmatic explanation. He saw it as an attempt to debunk false metaphysical notions, such as the Catholic understanding of transubstantiation, and Cartesian certainty searching strategies in epistemology. The Pragmatic Maxim, according to many modern pragmatists, is considered to be the most reliable thing one can expect from a theoretical framework about truth. They are generally opposed to deflationist theories of truth which require verification in order to be valid. Instead, they advocate an alternative method they refer to as “pragmatic explanation”. This involves explaining how a concept is used in practice and identifying the requirements to be met in order to accept the concept as true. This method is often criticized for being a form relativism. But it's less extreme than the deflationist alternatives, and thus is a great method of overcoming some of the issues associated with relativism theories of truth. As a result of this, a variety of liberatory philosophical projects like those that are linked to eco-philosophy, feminism, Native American philosophy, and Latin American philosophy, look for guidance from the pragmatist traditions. Moreover, many analytic philosophers (such as Quine) have embraced pragmatism with a degree of enthusiasm that Dewey himself could not manage. Although pragmatism has a long legacy, it is important to recognize that there are also some significant flaws in the philosophy. Particularly, Highly recommended Website fails to provide any real test of truth, and it fails when applied to moral issues. Quine, Wilfrid Solars and other pragmatists have also critiqued the philosophy. Yet, it has been reclaimed from obscurity by a wide range of philosophers, including Richard Rorty, Cornel West and Robert Brandom. These philosophers, although not classical pragmatists, owe much to the philosophy and work of Peirce James and Wittgenstein. The works of these philosophers are worth reading by anyone interested in this philosophy movement.