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Pragmatism

Rebecca Baumann

California State University, San Bernardino

EDUC 605

Dr. Richard Ashcroft

March 20, 2016

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ABSTRACT

This paper explores pragmatism, a philosophical principle that centers on attaining

knowledge through personal experience. It will also cover the history of how pragmatism

came to be, the founding fathers, advantages and disadvantages. Pragmatism has had a

huge impact on education, and that will also be covered in great detail. At the end of the

paper, we will compare pragmatism to other influential philosophical principles such as

naturalism and idealism, which will then be followed by the conclusion.

Keywords: pragmatism, education, philosophical principles.

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PRAGMATISM

Pragmatism is based on interpreting truths through trying different methods and

evaluating their effectiveness. It is all about finding a process that works in order to

achieve a desired goal. This theory became popular in the early 20th century because of its

emphasis on contemporary issues and the quest to find solutions. The term pragmatism is

derived from the Greek word “pragma” meaning to work or practice an action or activity.

It has been called an “American movement in philosophy” and was founded by C. S. Peirce

and William James.

William James published a group of lectures on pragmatism (1890) that discussed

two types of people: tender minded and tough minded. The tough minded individuals

stick to the facts through gathering results from experiments, while the tender minded

appeal more to the emotional side of things, such as psychology and why things are the

way they are. These two polarities are prime examples of pragmatism in that people need

a philosophy that is empiricist when it comes to being structured and carrying out

experiments, yet also makes room for spirituality and learning. James then introduced

pragmatism as a tool to clarify concepts and test hypotheses, as a method for “settling

metaphysical disputes that might otherwise be interminable (Talisse, p.11).”

It was American philosophers C.S. Peirce and John Dewey who then went on to

further develop pragmatism in the early 20th century. C.S. Peirce had a very scientific

approach to philosophy that he called “laboratory philosophy”. He was recognized as a

huge contributor to the pragmatism movement but never truly received the recognition

he deserved because many of his works were not published until after he had passed away

in 1914.
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John Dewey was an American philosopher who carried the torch after Peirce

passed away. It was Dewey who introduced nature and experience to pragmatism. To

him, experience and nature are one in the same because everything can be rooted in

nature. He also paid special attention to social action, where he urged the idea that

“philosophy should concern itself with human problems in a changing and uncertain world

(Ozmon p. 123).” He also believed people needed to go on a quest for certainty to seek

true and eternal ideas to find solutions to problems.

“Education is living through a continuous reconstruction of experiences. It is the

development of all those capacities in the individual which will enable him to control his

emotion and fulfill his possibilities.” John Dewey

PRAGMATISM IN EDUCATION

A curriculum based on pragmatic principles takes many forms of learning into

account. It isn’t solely about what a child learns while in the confines of the classroom

walls, but also about what they learn on the playground, at home, from relationships, etc.

A pragmatic curriculum is ever changing with the changing needs of society.

The role of the pragmatic teacher is key to the child’s development in the

classroom because their main purpose is to facilitate learning through experimentation.

Another interesting role the teacher needs to take is that of a friend to his or her students.

Their relaxed, laid back approach should let the students mind go where it may, while the

teacher acts as a guide to facilitate learning in a natural progression. John Dewey believed

“every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling (Ravi, p. 62).”

FORMS OF PRAGMATISM

There are four different forms of pragmatism:

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1. Biological

The biological form of pragmatism is all about the value of man being of utmost

importance. It says a lot about how someone can adapt to his or her environment

according to his or her individual needs. Instrumentalism also plays a big part in

the biological form of pragmatism because it has to deal with how people adapt to

their environment based on knowledge they have acquired along the way.

2. Humanistic

The humanistic form has to do with the overall happiness of people through

finding whatever it is that fulfills them and makes them happy. This particular

ideology emphasizes that only those things that make you happy are true.

3. Nominalistic

This doctrine pertains to concepts and universals having similar meanings, just

with different names. This can be particularly true when it comes to different

languages having different words for the same object.

4. Experimental

The experimental form of pragmatism quite simply means ideas cannot be true

unless they are proven to be true through an experiment. “Whatever can be

experimentally verified is true or what works is true (Ravi, p. 52).”

ADVANTAGES

With everything, there are advantages and disadvantages and the same can be

said about pragmatism. There are many advantages pragmatism has to offer to

education, such as the ability to change and be flexible in an ever-changing world. It also

gives the child freedom to discover things organically without being pigeonholed into
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doing things one way and one way only. Another great thing about the pragmatic

approach to teaching is that it also teaches the child social skills and skills that will prepare

them to be a functioning member of society once they enter adulthood.

DISADVANTAGES

While there are many advantages in the pragmatic approach to teaching, there are

also some disadvantages. One thing that affects pragmatism in a negative way is its ever-

changing circumstances; for example, what is true today may not necessarily true

tomorrow. Since this philosophy takes such a lax approach, it fails to have clearly defined

goals, which can sometimes make learning more difficult. It also puts too much

importance on learning through personal experience while neglecting a more formal style

of education. Learning through personal experience is great, but it is impossible to

experience all things, so there must be some kind of formal education to help make the

student a better-rounded individual.

COMPARING PRAGMATISM WITH NATURALISM AND IDEALISM

Pragmatism has many differences from other principles of education (i.e. idealism

and naturalism). For instance, in idealism much of the education is based on spirituality

and learning from reading books, whereas naturalism and pragmatism are geared more

toward science and psychology and tend to steer away from books and/or traditional

learning.

Idealism and naturalism both have predetermined ideals about finding happiness

and seeking the truth through self-realization and spirituality. But pragmatism is very

different in that its foundation is very shaky because it is ever changing. The only constant
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with pragmatism is that it constantly changes. This can make things difficult when it

comes to learning because what one learns today may be completely different tomorrow.

Idealism and naturalism are both very lax in their styles of teaching because they

believe you should follow your instincts and let them guide you to finding the truth.

Pragmatists believes in the use of a purposive process through learning and doing through

completing experiments. All three principles have very similar teaching methods, but

pragmatists are just slightly different because of their use of experimentations.

CONCLUSION

Pragmatism has definitely had a huge contribution on education and on how

people learn. Before pragmatism, teachers taught students from books. It wasn’t until

Peirce, James and Dewey developed pragmatism to be what it is today that we got to see

a whole new way of teaching that gives the student educative freedom to develop

themself organically and pose questions that may help them find the answers they are

seeking. By using observation and experimentation, the student will become an active

learner and ultimately learn more rather than just reading from a book.

REFERENCES

Merriam-Webster [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pragmatism]

Ozmon, Howard A (2012). Philosophical Foundations of Education (9th ed.) Pearson

Education Inc.

Samuel, Ravi S. (2015). Philosophical and Sociological Bases of Education

(1st ed.) PHI Learning Ltd.

Talisse, Robert B. (2007) A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy (1st ed.) Routledge.