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Pragmatism
The American philosophical tradition founded by Peirce, James, and Dewey that defines truth and meaning through practical consequences and experimental verification is pragmatism.
Overview
Pragmatism rejects a priori metaphysics: beliefs are tools for action rather than mirrors of reality, and truth is what works reliably under the conditions in which we operate. Dewey extended this into a foundational philosophy of democracy and education that shaped the Chicago School of sociology and symbolic interactionism.
Why it matters
Pragmatism's influence on American intellectual life has been major and lasting — shaping evidence-based medicine, legal realism, and iterative design methodology by insisting that theories be evaluated by their real-world consequences for human welfare rather than formal consistency.
Related concepts
- Epistemology (Theory of Knowledge)conceptualPragmatist epistemology defines knowledge through its practical consequences rather than correspondence to mind-independent reality
- Scientific MethodconceptualPeirce's pragmatism originated in reflection on scientific inquiry, treating scientific method as the model for all genuine knowledge-seeking
- ExistentialismlogicalPragmatism and existentialism share anti-foundationalist commitments but differ on whether meaning comes from action or authentic choice
- InterdisciplinarityconceptualPragmatism's focus on problem-solving over disciplinary boundaries encourages interdisciplinary inquiry oriented toward practical outcomes
- PhilosophylogicalPragmatism provides conceptual grounding that helps explain Philosophy in this knowledge graph.