Pragmatism, which argues that it is the most realistic and practical way to implement our actions, is a philosophical movement based on hedonistic morality. What is pragmatism, which is one of the newest philosophical movements that has entered our lives, and what it advocates, let’s take a closer look and see what its representatives say.
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 is the most realistic and practical way of doing an action. argues that it is the best.
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. Bride What is pragmatism, what does it advocate, who are its representatives Let’s see all the details.
Let’s start with a basic definition; What is pragmatism?
Pragmatism is actually a school of philosophy that aims to understand the world. Any philosophical concept argues that it 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:
Pragmatism is derived from the Greek word pragma, which means action and relationship. Texts written by the Greek philosopher Polybius, who is estimated to have lived in the 1st century BC It was 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 work called Philosophy of History, written by the 18th century German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, It 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, this doctrine, Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of education He commented on the German word pagmatisch. 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 thought system, It 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, they developed a pragmatism about reality and adaptation 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.” over the thought verbal differences and theoretical unpredictability There were those who defended it. 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 real 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:
Pragmatism is actually a kind of rebellion. Because the thought systems in the 19th century world they had an overly intellectual approach 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 According to pragmatists, it clearly laid out everything we needed to know. 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 by Immanuel Kant and later by Pierce, George Berkeley, who was called the forerunner of pragmatism, It created 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:
So far, we have evaluated the comments on pragmatism in terms of how they are influenced, influenced and reflected. But to understand clearly It would be good to give some information about classical pragmatism as well. 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, True beliefs can only be reached in this way. Pragmatism is only one of these ways.
Unlike Peirce, William James was the first to consider ideas and beliefs.He said it changed the forms of experience on 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.
Evaluating information and actions based on their usefulness What is pragmatism, what does it advocate, who are its representatives We answered frequently asked questions such as: 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.