Many of the current philosophical theories of pragmatics concentrate on semantics. For example, Brandom focuses on linguistic meaning (albeit from a pragmatic viewpoint).
Others adopt a more holistic approach to pragmatics, such as relevance theory, which attempts to explore the understanding processes involved in an utterance made by a listener. However, this method tends to neglect other elements of pragmatism like epistemic debates about truth.
What is pragmatism, exactly?
Pragmatism provides a different perspective to continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. It was conceived by Charles Sanders Peirce. It was extended by his colleague and friend William James, and later developed by Josiah Royce. It had a profound impact on the fields of inquiry from theology and philosophy to philosophy of science, but also ethics and politics, as well as the philosophy of language. The pragmatist tradition continues develop.
The pragmatic maxim is at the center of classical pragmatics. It is a principle that clarifies the meaning of hypotheses through their 'practical implications' or their implications for the experience of specific situations. This creates an epistemological view that is a kind of 'inquiry-based epistemology' and an anti-Cartesian explication of the norms that govern inquiry. Early pragmatists were divided over whether pragmatism was a science-based philosophy that was based on the view that truth is a monism (following Peirce) or a broad alethic pluralitism (James & Dewey).
A major concern for philosophers who are pragmatists is how to understand knowledge. Certain pragmatists like Rorty tend to be skeptical of any notion of knowledge that is based on'instantaneous experiences. Others, such as Peirce and James, are sceptical of the correspondence theory of truth, according to which true beliefs are those that reflect reality in a 'correct' way.
Other pragmatism-related issues include the relationship between beliefs and reality as well as the nature of human rationality, the role of values and virtues, and the significance of life. Pragmatists also developed a variety of ideas and methods, including those in semiotics and philosophy of language. They also have explored areas such as philosophy of religion, philosophy and ethics, science and theology. Some, like Peirce and Royce, are epistemological relativists, whereas others argue that such relativity is a serious misguided idea. The latter half of the 20th century saw the resurgence of interest in classical pragmatics. This resulted in a variety of new developments. They include a "near-side" pragmatics that is concerned with the resolution of ambiguity indexicals, demonstratives and anaphors, as well as a "far-side" pragmatics which looks at the semantics in discourses.
What is the relationship between what you say and what you do?
Semantics and Pragmatics are often viewed as being on opposite ends of a continuum, with semantics on the close side and pragmatics on the far side. Carston, for example asserts that there are at least three general types of modern pragmatics: those who view it as a philosophical concept along the lines of Grice and others; those who concentrate on its interaction with grammar and those who are concerned with the interpretation of utterances. Near-side pragmatics is believed to include such issues as clarification of ambiguity or vagueness, reference to proper names, indexicals and demonstratives, anaphors and presupposition. It is also believed to cover some questions that require precise descriptions.
What is the connection between pragmatics and semantics?
Pragmatics is the study of meaning within language placed within context. It is a subset of linguistics, and looks at the way people employ words to convey various meanings. It is often contrasted to semantics, which studies the literal meaning of words within a sentence or broader chunk of speech.
The relationship between semantics and pragmatickr pragmatism is not simple. The main distinction is that pragmatics takes into account other factors than literal meanings of words, such as the intended meaning and context that a statement was made. This allows for a more nuanced understanding of the meaning behind an expression. Semantics also focuses on the relationship between words while pragmatics concentrates more on the relationships between the interlocutors as well as their context.
In recent years the neopragmatism movement been heavily focused on metaphilosophy and philosophy of language. It has abandoned the value theories and metaphysics of classical pragmatism. Neopragmatists are currently working on metaethics that is based on the ideas of classical pragmatism about pragmatics and experiences.
Classical pragmatism was initially developed by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Both were influential thinkers who published a number of books. Their works are still widely thought of to this day.
Although pragmatism can be a good alternative to the analytic and continental philosophical mainstream, it isn't without its critics. For example some philosophers have argued that pragmatism is simply an expression of deconstructionism, and is not really an entirely new philosophical concept.
In addition to these critics, the pragmatism of the past was challenged by technological and scientific advances. For example, pragmatists have struggled to reconcile their opinions on science with the evolution of evolutionary theory, which was developed by a non-pragmatist, Richard Dawkins.
Despite these difficulties the pragmatism movement continues to grow in popularity across the globe. It is a third option to analytic and Continental philosophical traditions, and it has a variety of practical application. It is a growing field of study. Many schools of thought have developed and incorporated elements of pragmatism within their own philosophy. There are a variety of resources available to help you understand more about pragmatism and how to apply it to your daily life.
