Pragmatism

Overview

Judge an idea by its practical consequences. Truth and value show up in what the idea does in the world.

Peirce, James and Dewey judge an idea by what it does. A distinction that never changes conduct, prediction or the next experiment is not yet a distinction you can use. Peirce wants the meaning of a concept tied to the practical effects you would expect if it were true. James presses the same habit into religious and moral choices: a live difference is one that changes the life. Dewey carries it into education and democracy, where an idea has to survive contact with a shared problem.

Where it answers

Key terms

Pragmatic maxim

Peirce’s rule: the meaning of an idea lies in the practical differences it would make.

Fallibilism

Any belief could turn out wrong, so inquiry stays open to correction.

Cash value

James’s phrase for what an idea actually does in experience.

Inquiry

For Dewey, the work of turning an unsettled, troubled situation into a settled one.

In their words