Pragmatism seeks utility.
From the English pragmatism , pragmatism is the predominantly pragmatic attitude (seeking effectiveness and usefulness ). For example: "Let's put aside idealism and focus on pragmatism: how much do we have to invest to modernize the plant and double production?" , «Pragmatism is the basis of our political movement; "We are tired of sterile discussions and we want to solve people's daily problems ."
Pragmatism, on the other hand, is a philosophical current that emerged at the end of the 19th century in the United States . William James and Charles S. Peirce were the main promoters of the doctrine , which is characterized by the search for the practical consequences of thought .
Pragmatism in philosophy
Pragmatism places the criterion of truth in the effectiveness and value of thought for life. It is opposed, therefore, to the philosophy that maintains that human concepts represent the real meaning of things.
For pragmatists, the relevance of data arises from the interaction between intelligent organisms and the environment. This leads to the rejection of invariable meanings and absolute truths: ideas, for pragmatism, are only provisional and can change based on future research.
By establishing the meaning of things from their consequences, pragmatism is usually associated with practicality and usefulness . However, once again, this conception depends on the context.
When politicians talk about pragmatism, they are often based on prejudices and not on the observation of consequences. Political pragmatism can therefore be opposed to philosophical pragmatism .
In philosophy, pragmatism focuses on the practical consequences of thinking.
The contribution of John Dewey
John Dewey was a philosopher, educator and psychologist, born in the United States in 1859, who made important contributions to the theory of pragmatism. According to his thinking, our mind is an evolutionary product of biology, a tool that has adapted to allow us to survive in the physical world, much like the neck of giraffes . He asserted that intelligence should be used, judged and modified according to its practical effectiveness in the search for subsistence.
Thought represents a tool that aims to resolve the problems of experience; Knowledge, on the other hand, arises from accumulating the wisdom originating from overcoming said problems. It is regrettable that the principles established by Dewey have been ignored by pedagogy, that educational centers have continued to be based on a closed and practically obsolete model.
Pragmatism and thought
Below are the four phases of human thought , according to John Dewey:
* experience : this is a need that arises in the face of a real empirical situation, the result of trial and error to solve a problem. For this stage to develop correctly, it is necessary for thought to appear spontaneously and legitimately, and not forced by academic demands;
* the provision of data : during the learning process , people resort to data stored in our memory, and we obtain new ones from our environment through observation and communication. It is important to know how to take advantage of cognitive resources, many of which arise from reviewing the past;
* ideas : they represent a moment of creation in which we try to foresee potential results, jump in time to the future to prevent it from surprising us. Unlike data, ideas cannot be communicated ;
* application and verification : thoughts are incomplete, they are mere suggestions, points of view that help deal with situations of experience . Until the moment in which they are applied to these situations and verified, they do not reach fullness, they have no contact with reality.