The theory of nineteenth-century American pragmatism

Abstract

The purpose of this overview is to give a short introduction to the ideas and activities of nineteenth-century American pragmatism theory for a philosophy conference at the BEN Science Institute in Bulgaria. Pragmatism is a philosophical theory that sees thought as a tool and device for predicting, solving problems and planning action. The philosophy of pragmatism addresses the practical consequences of ideas by examining them in the light of human experience, so that the truth of a claim is determined by practical results and the utility it serves. Pragmatism began in the United States around 1870 by Charles S. Pierce. In addition to Peirce, philosophers such as William James and John Dewey who were members of the “Metaphysical Club” held at Cambridge University in the late 19th century (where the theory was formulated) helped to develop its principles. By reviewing the theory of pragmatism, we must concentrate on the Pragmatic Maxim, the rule for clarifying ideas, which for both Peirce and James, was the core of pragmatism. Another important idea in the theory is Skepticism and fallibilism. This idea claims, according to Pierce, that we should try to doubt propositions and keep them only if they are with absolutely certainty and there is no way to doubt them. The test of certainty, as Peirce points out, lies in the individual mind: trial by doubt is something each must do for himself, and the examination of our beliefs is guided by reflection on hypothetical possibilities: we cannot trust our perceptual beliefs. For example, because we cannot rule out the possibility that they were created by a dream or by evil scientists manipulating our minds. The more we try to avoid errors, the more likely we are to miss truths; And the more effort we put into searching for truths, the more likely we are to introduce errors. The doubt method may make sense in the special case where enormous weight is given to avoiding mistakes, even if it means losing truth. Once we recognize that we are making a practical decision about the relative importance of two good options, the Cartesian strategy no longer seems the only rational one. Inquiry, as already suggested, is pragmatic accounts of the normative standards to which we must act in arriving at beliefs about the world cast in terms of how we can conduct inquiries in a disciplined, self-controlled manner. That is, our ability to think about external things and constantly improve our understanding of them is based on our experience. It would be wrong to conclude that pragmatism is limited to the United States or that the only important pragmatist thinkers were Peirce, James, and Dewey. Richard Rorty has described his philosophy as “pragmatist” on several occasions - what pragmatists teach us about truth, he tells us, is that there is nothing very systematic or constructive to say about truth at all.