◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ C H A P T E R 1 4

Pragmatism

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES Pragmatism grew out of American life

and experience; it was not in the main
In this chapter we will address the
following questions: an academic movement, and its chief

◆ What Is Pragmatism? expositors were marked by independence

1
of judgment.
◆ Who Are the Major Pragmatists
and How Do They Differ?
◆ How Is Pragmatism Related
to American Philosophy?
 Pragmatism Pragmatism is essen- struct theories about the whole nature of things,
Defined tially an American phi- ending up with a “block universe.”
losophical movement Between these two traditions there was a
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
that has come to prom- gulf. From the scientific point of view, rationalist
inence during the last hundred years. It has been and idealist philosophies lacked objective evi-
called “a new name for an old way of thinking.” dence to support their claims. From the rational
It strongly reflects some of the characteristics and idealist points of view, the assumptions of
of American life. Pragmatism is connected with science were a threat to the humanistic side and
such names as Charles S. Peirce (1839–1914), the moral and religious convictions of human
William James (1842–1910), and John Dewey beings. Pragmatism sought to mediate between
(1859–1952). Pragmatism seeks to mediate be- these two traditions.
tween the empirical and idealist traditions and The pragmatists said that philosophy in the
to combine what is most significant in each of past had made the mistake of looking for ulti-
them. Pragmatism is an attitude, a method, and mates, absolutes, eternal essences, substances,
a philosophy that uses the practical consequen- fixed principles, and metaphysical “block sys-
ces of ideas and beliefs as a standard for deter- tems.” The pragmatists emphasized empirical
mining their value and truth. William James de- science and the changing world and its problems,
fined pragmatism as “the attitude of looking and nature as the reality beyond which we cannot
away from first things, principles, ‘categories,’ go. For John Dewey, experience is central. Expe-
supposed necessities; and of looking towards last rience is the result of the interaction of the or-
things, fruits, consequences, facts.”2 ganism with its environment. Although the idea
Pragmatism places greater emphasis on of experience for the pragmatists was not limited
method and attitude than on a systematic philo- to “sense experience,” nonetheless they agreed
sophical doctrine. It is the method of experi- with the empirical tradition that we have no con-
mental inquiry extended into all realms of hu- ception of the whole of reality, that we know
man experience. Pragmatism uses the modern things from many perspectives, and that we must
scientific method as the basis of a philosophy. Its settle for a pluralistic approach to knowledge.
affinity is with the sciences, especially the bio-
logical and social sciences, and it aims to utilize
the scientific spirit and scientific knowledge to
deal with all human problems, including those of Charles S. Peirce Charles S. Peirce (pro-
ethics and religion. ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ nounced purse), some-
As a movement in philosophy, pragmatism times called the foun-
was founded for the purpose of mediating be- der of pragmatism, was influenced by Kant and
tween two opposing tendencies in nineteenth- Hegel. Peirce considered that problems, includ-
century thought. There was empiricism and sci- ing those of metaphysics, could be solved if one
ence, to which Darwin’s theory of evolution had gave careful attention to the practical conse-
contributed the most recent description of who quences of adherence to various ideas. Pragma-
human beings are. This tradition looked at the tism is sometimes said to have originated in
world and humans as parts of a mechanical or 1878, when Peirce published the article “How
3
biological process in which the mind was an To Make Our Ideas Clear.”
observer. There was also the tradition coming The philosophical writings of Peirce consist
from Descartes and his rationalism and moving of essays and manuscripts, many of which are
through the critical idealism of Kant, the ab- fragmentary or incomplete. Although he never
solute idealism of Hegel, and later romantic wrote a book in philosophy or organized his
thought. In this, the human mind had enormous thoughts into systematic or final form, his liter-
power, so that philosophers proceeded to con- ary activity covered many years. With the publi-

290 ◆ Chapter 14
cation of his papers in recent decades, interest in public consequences, it is meaningless. To be
Peirce’s philosophy is increasing, and he is com- able to distinguish between meaningful and
ing to be recognized as an intellectual genius of meaningless is particularly important, Peirce
outstanding originality. He was the rare combi- thought, when you are considering opposing
nation of a natural scientist with a “laboratory systems of thought.
habit of mind,” a careful student of philosophy, Peirce’s empiricism is intellectualistic rather
and a man with strong moral convictions. He is than voluntaristic; that is, emphasis is on the
sometimes referred to as a philosopher’s philos- intellect and understanding rather than on will
opher, rather than a public or popular philoso- and activity. The irritation of doubt leads to the
pher, such as James. struggle to attain belief. The end of this inquiry,
Peirce was primarily a logician concerned which aims to dispel doubt, is knowledge. Thus
with the more technical problems of logic and he does not stress sensation or volition as much
epistemology, and the methods of the laboratory as do later forms of popular pragmatism. Peirce
sciences. He was interested in deductive systems, is critical of positivism and mechanistic deter-
methodology in the empirical sciences, and the minism, on the one hand, and intuitionism and
philosophy behind the various methods and a priori principles, on the other hand. Although
techniques. His logic included a theory of signs he shares some of the positivists’ views, he does
and symbols, a field in which he did pioneer not share with them the idea that empiricism re-
work. He viewed logic as a means of communi- quires a denial of the possibility of metaphysics.
cation and a cooperative or public venture. His In the field of metaphysics as well as in all other
approach was to invite critical examination and areas of discourse, we must avoid the belief that
seek aid from others in a continuous quest for we have attained finality. Peirce supports “falli-
the clarification of ideas. Peirce wished to estab- bilism”; even the most intelligent people are apt
lish philosophy on a scientific basis and to treat to be mistaken. Progressive inquiry leads to
theories as working hypotheses. He called his ap- constant modification. There is chance (tychism)
proach pragmaticism. because, Peirce maintained, although nature be-
One of Peirce’s main contributions to phi- haves in a lawlike way, that regularity is never ex-
losophy is his theory of meaning. He coined the act. Chance, as well as habit, plays a real part in
word pragmatism from the Greek word pragma the occurrence of events in the world. Fallibilism
(“act” or “deed”) to emphasize the fact that and an open future replace skepticism and abso-
words derive their meanings from actions. He set lutism, and pragmatism replaces fixed systems of
forth one of the first modern theories of mean- belief in philosophy and in science. Although
ing by proposing a technique for the clarification Peirce gave his major attention to logic and
of ideas. The meaning of many ideas, Peirce said, methodology, his writings make clear that he left
is best discovered by putting them to an experi- a place for an evolutionary idealism that stresses
mental test and observing the results. His crite- the need for a principle of love opposed to any
rion of meaningfulness was to appeal to the way narrow individualism in human affairs.
an object would behave if it had a certain charac-
ter or were of a certain kind. If an object were
“hard” it would scratch other objects; if it were William James A complete discussion
“volatile,” it would evaporate rapidly, and the ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ of the people who in-
like. Peirce argued that thinking always occurs in fluenced William James
a context, not in isolation. Meanings are derived (see biography and excerpt, pp. 292–293) would
not by intuition but by experience or experi- take us back to Lange, Mach, Pearson, and Re-
ment. For these reasons, meanings are not indi- nouvier, as well as to Peirce; we will have to be
vidual or private but are social and public. If content with a mere mention of these names.
there is no way of testing an idea by its effects or The rapid development of pragmatism was due

Pragmatism ◆ 291
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

William James William James (1842–1910) was born in New York City in a
home where there was spirited and wide-ranging discussion that
stimulated free intellectual growth. James became an original
thinker; he read widely in the literature of experimental psychol-
ogy and studied the works of John Stuart Mill, Kant, and Hegel.
From 1855 to 1860, he studied in England, France, Switzer-
land, and Germany. His interests shifted from painting to natural
science and medicine, to psychology, and then to philosophy.
From 1872 until his death, he taught at Harvard University, first
in physiology, then psychology, and finally philosophy. He wres-
tled with questions such as: What does it mean to be a human
being? To what extent are humans free? How do ideas affect our
lives? We need, James thought, to exercise a “will to believe.”
James was a highly social person whose friends, including
Oliver Wendell Holmes and Ralph Waldo Emerson, formed
an influential intellectual community. He gave public lectures,
became a leader in the movement known as pragmatism, and
wrote a number of books that are classics in American philoso-
phy. His writings include The Principles of Psychology (1890);
The Will to Believe (1897); The Varieties of Religious Experience
(1902); Pragmatism (1907); The Meaning of Truth and A
Pluralistic Universe (1909); and, published after his death,
Some Problems in Philosophy (1911); and Essays in Radical
Empiricism (1912).

largely to the fertile soil it found in America and RADICAL EMPIRICISM

to the brilliant exposition made by William
James. In his book Pragmatism, James contrasts James defines the term radical empiricism this
the tender-minded rationalist, who usually has way: “I say ‘empiricism’ because it is contented
an idealistic and optimistic outlook, with the to regard its most assured conclusions concern-
tough-minded empiricist, the lover of facts, who ing matters of fact as hypotheses liable to modi-
is often a materialist and a pessimist. To both of fication in the course of future experience.”5 He
these James says, “I offer the oddly-named thing says, “To be radical, an empiricism must neither
pragmatism as a philosophy that can satisfy both admit into its constructions any element that is
kinds of demands. It can remain religious like not directly experienced, nor exclude from them
the rationalisms, but at the same time, like the any element that is directly experienced.”6 James
empiricisms, it can preserve the richest intimacy includes relations, such as greater than, among
with facts.” 4 the latter (directly experienced) elements.

292 ◆ Chapter 14
Excerpt from James: [Determinism] professes that those parts of the universe already
The Dilemma of Determinism laid down absolutely appoint and decree what the other parts
will be. The future has no ambiguous possibilities hidden in its
womb: the part we call the present is compatible with only one
totality. Any other future complement than the one fixed from
eternity is impossible. The whole is in each and every part, and
welds it with the rest into an absolute unity, an iron block, in
which there can be no equivocation or shadow of turning.
With earth’s first clay they did the last man knead,
And there of the last harvest sowed the seed.
And the first morning of creation wrote
What the last dawn of reckoning shall read.

Indeterminism, on the contrary, says that the parts have a

certain amount of loose play on one another, so that the laying
down of one of them does not necessarily determine what the
others shall be. It admits that possibilities may be in excess of ac-
tualities, and that things not yet revealed to our knowledge may
really in themselves be ambiguous. Of two alternative futures
which we conceive, both may now be really possible; and the
one becomes impossible only at the very moment when the
other excludes it by becoming real itself. Indeterminism thus de-
nies the world to be one unbending unit of fact. It says there is
a certain ultimate pluralism in it; and, so saying, it corroborates
our ordinary unsophisticated view of things.
W. James, The Will to Believe and Other Essays and Popular
Philosophy (New York: Longmans, Green, 1904).

Pragmatism, as we have seen, is the practice element, which the conscious being supplies.
of looking toward results and facts instead of to- The creative whole of experience, which in-
ward first principles and categories. It accepts cludes both the given and the interpretative el-
the experiences and facts of everyday life as fun- ement, is the one reality we know. Knowledge is
damental. Reality is just what it is experienced thus based directly on sense perception, or ex-
as being—flux or change. Because experience is perience, which constitutes the continuous,
fragmentary, pragmatists find things partly flowing stream of consciousness.
joined and partly disjoined, and accept them as
they are. Consequently, they insist that reality
JAMES’ THEORY OF TRUTH
is pluralistic rather than monistic or dualistic.
There is the given—the data of the senses— William James said, “Truth happens to an idea.”
which is brought in as stimuli from the region What was so startling about this statement was
beyond us. Added to this is the interpretative that the more traditional theories of truth took

Pragmatism ◆ 293
virtually the opposite view—namely, that truth contributed to his views of religion and of God.
was a fixed or static relation. When James exam- He acknowledged later that “the will to believe”
ined the traditional theories of truth, he de- might have been called “the right to believe.”
manded to know what “truth” means in opera- Let us consider first James’s doctrine of the
tion. Truth must be the cash value of an idea. will to believe. We have pointed out that radical
What other motive could there be for saying that empiricism ceases to look beyond experience for
something is true or not than to provide guides supposed necessities and metaphysical entities
for practical behavior? James would ask, “What and stresses the present stream of consciousness.
concrete difference will it make in life?” “A dif- Consciousness displays interest, desire, and at-
ference that makes no difference is no differ- tention; it is volitional as well as sensory, and the
ence,” but only a matter of words. An idea be- will rather than the intellect is determinative.
comes true or is made true by events. An idea is The will determines how and what we expe-
true if it works or if it has satisfactory conse- rience; thus thinking is empirically secondary
quences. Truth is relative; it also grows. The true to willing. What is selected and emphasized is
is “the expedient in the way of our thinking,” thereby made vital and real; thus, the world we
just as the right is “the expedient in the way of experience is largely of our own making.
our behaving.” Ideas, doctrines, and theories be- As with our sensory perceptions, so with our
come instruments to help us meet life situations; ideas. Those ideas that interest us and engage
doctrines are not answers to riddles. A theory is our attention tend to exclude others and to
created to suit some human purpose, and the dominate the scene; and these ideas tend to find
only satisfactory criterion of the truth of a theory expression in our actions. In life, individuals have
is that it leads to beneficial results. Workability, to make numerous decisions. How are they to
satisfactions, consequences, and results are the key make these decisions and formulate their beliefs?
words in the pragmatic conception of truth. In some situations the evidence is reasonably
certain and clear, and in these circumstances they
PRAGMATIC VIEW OF MORALITY need to act in accordance with the evidence. In
other situations, in which a choice between the
Within James’s view, morality, like truth, is not
proposed lines of action either is not forced or is
fixed but grows out of present life situations. The
trivial, they can postpone their decisions or even
source and authority for beliefs and conduct are
refrain from choosing at all. There are still other
found in human experience. The good is that
situations, however, in which individuals facing
which makes for a more satisfactory life; the evil
some crucial issue must choose and act, because
is that which tends to destroy life. James was a
failure to decide will commit them to one of the
strong defender of moral freedom and indeter-
alternatives. If such issues are living, forced, and
minism; he believed that determinism is an in-
momentous, people need to act even though they
tellectualistic falsification of experience. He sup-
do not have all the evidence on the basis of
ported the doctrine of meliorism, which holds
which they would like to make their decisions.
that the world is neither completely evil nor com-
James’ doctrine of the will to believe applies to
pletely good but is capable of being improved.
this third type of situation, where some decision
Human effort to improve the world is worth-
is demanded by the structure of the situation.
while and fruitful, and the trend of biological and
For example, shall I marry this woman (or man)
social evolution is toward such improvement.
or shall I wait until I know for certain how the
marriage will turn out? I cannot know for certain
THE WILL TO BELIEVE
that the marriage will be harmonious and suc-
James devoted considerable attention to reli- cessful. All the facts are not known and I cannot
gion. The doctrines of pluralism and meliorism, wait until all the evidence is in, yet the issue is liv-
as well as the doctrine of the will to believe, all ing, forced, and momentous. To fail to act is in

294 ◆ Chapter 14
 itself a decision—not to marry this person at this to appease or conciliate the powers around us by
time. When the will to believe leads to decision ceremonial rites, sacrifices, supplication, and so
and action, it leads to discovery and conviction, on. The second is to invent tools to control the
or to truth and value simply through the fact forces of nature to our advantage. This is the way
that the will exists. Life’s values are empirical and of science, industry, and the arts, and it is the
are found and tested in the process of living. way Dewey approves. The aim of philosophy is
According to James, in many of life’s experi- the better organization of human life and activ-
ences, we have contact with a “More.” We feel ity here and now. Interest thus shifts from tradi-
that which is sympathetic and gives us “sup- tional metaphysical problems to the methods, at-
port.” We rely on it in worship and in prayer. titudes, and techniques for scientific and social
This sense of the “More” brings comfort, happi- progress. The method is that of experimental in-
ness, and peace; furthermore, it is an almost uni- quiry as guided by empirical research in the area
versal experience. In the religious sense, God is of values.
the name of this ideal tendency or encompassing
support in human experience. EXPERIENCE AND THE
James, as we have seen, was impressed by the
CHANGING WORLD
novelty, freedom, individuality, and diversity in-
herent in our world. Consequently, he insisted Experience is one of the key words in Dewey’s
that God is finite. There are real possibilities for pragmatic theory. Dewey’s philosophy is of and
evil as well as for good in our world; no good, for daily experience. In his essay “The Need for
all-powerful God could have created the world a Recovery of Philosophy,” Dewey sets down his
as we know it. God is, however, moral and criticisms of the traditional or inherited view of
friendly, and we can cooperate with God in cre- experience as found in empiricism and offers a
ating a better world. substitute interpretation. The orthodox empiri-
cal view regards experience primarily as a knowl-
edge affair (see Chapter 9). Dewey prefers to see
experience as “an affair of the intercourse of a
John Dewey The continued growth living being with its social and physical environ-
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ and strength of prag- ment.”7 Experience for Dewey is primarily ex-
matism can be attrib- perimental and is not tied to what has been or
uted to John Dewey’s (see biography and ex- what is “given”; experience involves an effort to
cerpt, pp. 296–297) prolific writings and his change the given by reaching forward into the
application of the principles of the movement to unknown. Dewey refuses to attempt to tran-
all phases of life and thought. Dewey achieved scend human experience or to believe that any-
prominence in logic, epistemology, ethics, aes- one else has ever succeeded in doing so. In the
thetics, and political, economic, and educational past, philosophers attempted to discover some
philosophies. For Dewey and his many followers, “theoretical superexperience” on the basis of
the term instrumentalism is preferred to the which they might build a secure and meaningful
term pragmatism, but both are used. life. Dewey insists that “experience is not a veil
Dewey was a keen and a constant critic of that shuts man off from nature”; it is the only
the classical or traditional types of philosophies, means we have of penetrating further into the se-
with their search for ultimate reality and their at- crets of nature.
tempt to find the immutable. Such philosophies, This present world of men and women, of
Dewey claimed, attempt to minimize or tran- fields and factories, of plants and animals, of
scend human experience. In The Quest for Cer- bustling cities and struggling nations, is the
tainty, Dewey says that we have used two meth- world of our experience. We should try to
ods to escape dangers and gain security. One is understand it and then attempt to construct a

Pragmatism ◆ 295
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

John Dewey John Dewey (1859–1952) was born in Burlington, Vermont,

and grew from a shy youth to a man whose influence spread
throughout the world. After his graduation from the University
of Vermont, he taught classics, science, and algebra for a short
time in high school and later received his Ph.D. degree from
The Johns Hopkins University. He taught for ten years at the
University of Michigan, for a short period at the University of
Minnesota, and for ten years at the University of Chicago. In
1904, he went to Columbia University and remained on the
staff there until his retirement in 1930.
John Dewey was a defender of the democratic process and
an outspoken champion of social reform. He wanted to make
philosophy relevant to the practical problems and affairs of hu-
manity. He lectured in the United States and in a number of
other countries. He was in Beijing, the capital of China, for
two years lecturing and aiding in the reorganization of the
educational system. He spent shorter periods in Japan, Turkey,
Mexico, and Russia. After his retirement, Dewey remained active
and continued to write many articles and books not only on phi-
losophy and logic but also on art, education, science, and social
and political reform. He was a leader in various humanitarian
causes. A bibliography of his writings runs to more than 150
pages. Among his books are Democracy and Education (1916);
Reconstruction in Philosophy (1920); Experience and Nature
(1925; 2nd ed., 1929); Art as Experience (1934); and Freedom
and Culture (1939).

society in which all can grow in freedom and veloping in the midst of an environment that
intelligence. fosters and at the same time threatens their lives
Dewey takes evolution, relativity, and the was decisive for Dewey. Organism and environ-
time process seriously. The world is in the mak- ment, development and struggle, precariousness
ing; it is constantly moving forward. This view of and stability—these are the basic elements that
the world stands in marked contrast to that of a humans face. Dewey put these elements together
fixed and permanent reality, which dominated in the unifying idea of experience.
Greek and medieval thinking and has character- According to Dewey, we live in an unfin-
ized many areas of modern science. ished world. Dewey’s attitude can best be un-
Dewey was born in 1859, the year Darwin derstood by an examination of three aspects of
published Origin of Species. Not since Aristotle what we call his instrumentalism. First, the no-
has any philosopher built his or her thought so tion of temporalism means that there is real
completely on biological foundations. The vi- movement and progress in time. We can no
sion of human beings as always changing and de- longer hold a spectator view of reality. Our

296 ◆ Chapter 14
Excerpt from Dewey: A criticism of current philosophizing from the standpoint of the
“The Need for a Recovery traditional quality of its problems must begin somewhere, and
of Philosophy” (1917) the choice of a beginning is arbitrary. It has appeared to me that
the notion of experience implied in the questions most actively
discussed gives a natural point of departure. For, if I mistake
not, it is just the inherited view of experience common to the
empirical school and its opponents which keeps alive many dis-
cussions even of matters that on their face are quite remote from
it, while it is also this view which is most untenable in the light
of existing science and social practice. . . .
Suppose we take seriously the contribution made to our idea
of experience by biology,—not that recent biological science dis-
covered the facts, but that it has so emphasized them that there
is no longer an excuse for ignoring them or treating them as
negligible. Any account of experience must now fit into the con-
sideration that experiencing means living; and that living goes
on in and because of an environing medium, not in a vacuum.
Growth and decay, health and disease, are alike continuous with
activities of the natural surroundings. The difference lies in the
bearing of what happens upon future life-activity. From the
standpoint of this future reference environmental incidents fall
into groups: those favorable to life-activities, and those hostile.
J. Dewey, Creative Intelligence: Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude
(New York: Henry Holt, 1917).

knowledge does not merely mirror the world; it with the adjustment between an organism and
reshapes and changes it. Second, the notion of its environment. All thinking and all concepts,
futurism bids us to look mainly to the future and doctrines, logics, and philosophies are, in
not to the past. The future, which is growing out Dewey’s words, part of the “protective equip-
of the past, will not be a repetition but will be in ment of the race in its struggle for existence.”
some sense novel. Third, meliorism is the view Reflective thinking occurs when we face a
that the world can be made better by our efforts, problem or when our habits are blocked in par-
a view also held by William James. ticular crises. Intelligence is an instrument for
the individual or society to gain some goal.
There is no separate “mind stuff ” gifted with a
THE METHOD OF INTELLIGENCE
faculty for thinking. Mind is manifested in our
Basic to Dewey’s philosophy is the instrumental capacity to respond to what is doubtful or prob-
theory of ideas, the use of intelligence as a lematic in experience. Knowing and acting are
method. Thinking is biological; it is concerned continuous. Knowing occurs within nature, and

Pragmatism ◆ 297
sensory and rational factors cease to be competi- bound up with Dewey’s conviction that there is
tors and are both parts of a unifying process. a need to find a way to reorient society as a
Ideas are plans of action. Scientific theories, like whole.
other tools and instruments, are created by us in The spirit of education should be experi-
pursuit of particular interests and goals. The aim mental. The mind is basically a problem-solving
of thinking is to remake experienced reality instrument and needs to try alternative means
through the use of experimental techniques. for solving problems. However, Dewey never
said that education ought simply to cater to the
needs and whims of the child. In one of his ear-
FREEDOM AND CULTURE
liest writings on education, The Child and the
According to Dewey’s pragmatic outlook, hu- Curriculum, he criticizes the child-oriented the-
mans and nature always are interdependent. We ory of education by noting that it contains an
are not part body and part mind; we are natural- empty concept of development. Children are ex-
ized within nature, and nature is so interpreted pected to “work things out for themselves”
as to take account of us. Nature in humans is na- without receiving proper guidance. According
ture grown intelligent. Nature is neither rational to Dewey, advocating complete freedom for the
nor irrational; it is intelligible and understand- child “reflects a sentimental idealization of the
able. Nature is not something merely to be ac- child’s naive caprices and performances” and in-
cepted and enjoyed; it is something to be modi- evitably results in “indulgence and spoiling.”8
fied and experimentally controlled. When unlimited free expression is allowed, chil-
Dewey and the modern instrumentalists dren “gradually tend to become listless and fi-
have been staunch defenders of freedom and de- nally bored.” Dewey argues instead for the ne-
mocracy. Dewey was a defender of moral free- cessity of deliberate guidance, direction, and
dom—or freedom of choice—of intellectual order. Education is, or ought to be, systematic
freedom, and of the political and civil liberties, and ordered, and thus the intelligent guidance of
including freedom of speech, of press, and of as- the teacher is necessary.
sembly. He advocated an extension of the demo- Dewey insisted that there be clear objec-
cratic principles in the political and social realms tives in promoting the art of critical thinking.
to all races and classes. “Though there is widespread belief that Ameri-
can education has suffered from Dewey’s influ-
ence, it would be more accurate to say that inso-
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
far as it has failed to develop the tough-minded
Nothing is more important than education in habits of intelligence, it has failed to be influ-
remolding a society. If we are creatures of habit, enced by what is most basic for Dewey.”9
education should provide the conditions for
developing our most useful and creative habits. A COMMON FAITH
Instead of some catastrophic upheaval, such as a
revolution, changing the habits of a culture, ed- Dewey and many of his supporters reject all
ucation can provide a more controlled approach supernaturalism and ground both ethical and re-
to change. Instead of revolution, Dewey be- ligious values solely in the natural relations of
lieved that those habits may be altered by educa- humans. The values of life are capable of verifi-
tion, but education of the sort that is available to cation by the methods through which other facts
every man in every walk of life. Thus he believed are established.
in universal education, which should extend over There exist concretely and experimentally
the entire culture and penetrate to its founda- goods—the values of art in all its forms, of
tions. The demand that education be universal is knowledge, of effort and of rest after striving,

298 ◆ Chapter 14
 of education and fellowship, of friendship and serve the process of adjustment between the or-
love, of growth in mind and body. These goods ganism and its environment. Beliefs are devel-
are there and yet they are relatively embryonic. oped and tested by experimental methods and
Many persons are shut out from generous par- experience.
ticipation in them; there are forces at work that
Pragmatism has generated a liberal habit of
threaten and sap existent goods as well as pre-
mind and a beneficial enthusiasm for social
vent their expansion. A clear and intense con-
ception of a union of ideal ends with actual con- progress. Most pragmatists have been keen sup-
ditions is capable of arousing steady emotion.10 porters of democracy and human freedom.
However, pragmatism has had various criti-
Dewey was critical of the traditional institu- cisms directed against it. Some people assert
tional church, with its stress on fixed ritual and that pragmatism has an inadequate metaphysics.
authoritarian dogma. He uses the adjective reli- Pragmatists are likely to claim that speculations
gious to describe those values through which regarding the ultimate nature of reality misdirect
one’s personality is integrated and enriched. our energies away from concrete problems. Prag-
Thus any activity pursued on behalf of an ideal, matists use scientific methods of inquiry and dis-
because of an abiding conviction of its genuine trust traditional metaphysics, which rests on the
value, is religious. The term God may be used if spectator attitude toward the world. If the prag-
it refers to the unity of all ideal ends in their ten- matists stress experience and assert that reality is
dency to arouse us to desire and action. as it is experienced and that nature is to some ex-
tent created by people, they move in the direc-
tion of the subjective forms of idealism. How-
Reflections Pragmatism has grown ever, if they stress the objective independent
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ out of certain aspects world, they move in the direction of realism.
of living, especially of Another criticism is that pragmatism has an
contemporary American life. It is an expression inadequate view of mind. Mind is undoubtedly a
of the mood of America, of the emphasis of biological aid to survival, as the pragmatists
modern technological society on getting things claim. However, some people believe that mind
done and on satisfactory consequences. Pragma- is much more than an instrument for satisfying
tism attempts to bring philosophy “down to the practical needs of food, clothing, and shelter.
earth” and to deal with the living issues of the People are problem solvers but they also func-
day. According to Dewey, the aim of philosophy tion in the realm of aesthetic contemplation and
should be the improvement of human life and its of ideas and ideals. We ask about the “why” and
environment, or the organization of life and its not only about the “how” of things. Some crit-
activities to meet human needs. We need, he ics think that the instrumentalist view of mind as
says, a philosophy that makes life better here and merely a description of certain kinds of behavior
now; the world is in the making, and our efforts is unsatisfactory.
will in part shape the future. If we accept the me- Critics also attack the pragmatic view that
lioristic attitude and believe that life can be made the discovery of truth is conditioned by human
better, we are more likely to create a better inquiry and that truth has no independent exis-
world. We need to face the facts of experience tence. Pragmatists may commit a fallacy when
and to discover and live by those principles that they say that “true propositions work in the long
stand the test of time and of daily living. run” means that “all propositions that work are
According to pragmatism, our knowledge true.” As truth is ordinarily understood, we do
does not merely mirror or reflect the world; not think of ourselves as creating it by living
thinking is a creative process that reshapes the correctly; on the contrary, we live correctly by
world. Ideas and doctrines are instrumental and grasping and following the truth.

Pragmatism ◆ 299
 Finally, critics ask whether pragmatism can longing to the evolutionary process good? Pos-
be used to justify any social attitude that an indi- sibly pragmatism places too much emphasis on
vidual or a group wishes to call progress. If the the goals we do seek—and not enough on the
good is that which can be lived, is everything be- goals we should seek.

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Glossary Terms

INSTRUMENTALIST (INSTRUMENTALISM) (1) Another PRAGMATICISM At one point of time, the name
term for the pragmatism of John Dewey and others. given by Peirce to his own thinking. (See prag-
(2) Instrumentalism stresses experience and inter- matism.)
prets thinking, ideas, and beliefs as means for the ad-
justment of an organism to its environment. PRAGMATISM A philosophical outlook generated by
C.S. Peirce and William James and further developed
MELIORISM The view that the world is neither en- by John Dewey that emphasizes experience, experi-
tirely good nor entirely evil but can be made better mental inquiry, and truth as that which has satisfac-
through our efforts. tory consequences.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Chapter Review

PRAGMATISM DEFINED 2. Concerned with logic, epistemology, and the

methods of the laboratory sciences, he con-
1. Pragmatism is an attitude, a method, and a phi- tributed an early modern theory of meaning
losophy that uses the practical consequences of to philosophy.
ideas and beliefs as a standard for determining
their value and truth. 3. He proposed that by putting ideas to an experi-
mental test and observing the results, we can
2. Essentially an American philosophical move- discover their meaning.
ment, pragmatism has come to prominence in
the last one hundred years. 4. Peirce supported “fallibilism” and “tychism.”

3. Pragmatism is essentially empirical in method.

However, experience for the pragmatists is not WILLIAM JAMES
limited to “sense experience.” We have no con-
ception of the whole of reality; we know things 1. James’ “radical empiricism” broadened the base
from many perspectives and we must settle for a of empiricism from the laboratory to human ex-
pluralistic approach to knowledge. periences and facts of daily life.
2. James’ theory of truth stressed the criteria of
satisfactory consequences, the difference an idea
CHARLES S. PEIRCE makes in life, the idea’s workability.
1. Peirce is often credited with founding pragma- 3. He applied pragmatism to interpretations of
tism in 1878, when he published an early essay. morality; the doctrine of meliorism is important
to his understanding of the world.

300 ◆ Chapter 14
 4. James was convinced that the will determines ety are evolving, and our efforts to shape its val-
how and what we experience, and that therefore ues are central human tasks.
thinking is empirically secondary to willing. 4. Intelligence is an instrument for gaining goals.
Thus, the world we experience is largely of our Mind is not a separate entity; the aim of think-
own selecting, our own choices. ing is to remake experienced reality through the
5. His sense of the “More” is central to his use of experimental techniques.
views on religion. James interprets “God” 5. Dewey was a defender of freedom of choice for
as this “More.” all persons in all areas of life.
6. The spirit of education should be experimental,
JOHN DEWEY because the mind is basically a problem-solving
instrument and therefore needs to try out alter-
1. Experience is one of the key concepts in natives. Deliberate guidance, direction, and or-
Dewey’s pragmatic outlook. der are necessary in education; clear objectives
2. A critic of traditional philosophies that sought in promoting the art of critical thinking are cen-
ultimate truths. Dewey was concerned with the tral to Dewey’s educational philosophy.
better organization of human life and activity
here and now. His method was experimental
inquiry and guided by empirical research in the REFLECTIONS
areas of values. 1. American philosophy has been dominated by
3. An understanding of daily experience and the pragmatism. However, its critics have raised
construction of a better society are goals of important issues for further consideration.
Dewey’s thought. The present world and soci-

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Study Questions and Projects

1. Are you able to accept William James’ doctrine and life after death in the light of the above
of the will to believe? What are its values and its question.
dangers? Are there safeguards you would like 6. What are the distinguishing features or em-
to add? phases of pragmatism?
2. Give an account of the life of John Dewey, em- 7. Indicate the part played by Charles S. Peirce in
phasizing his intellectual development and the the development of pragmatism.
factors that influenced his thinking.
8. Give an exposition of the philosophy of William
3. Wherein does pragmatism agree with and differ James, indicating his views of empiricism, truth,
from (a) idealism, (b) realism? meliorism, and the will to believe.
4. Do you think there is any justification for the 9. How does the pragmatic view of truth differ
charge sometimes made that pragmatism could from traditional interpretations?
be used to support many widely different sys-
tems of metaphysics or social philosophy? It is 10. Discuss the instrumentalism of John Dewey,
conceivable that several hypotheses about the indicating the distinctive points of emphasis in
same thing might “work” equally well? his philosophy.

5. Are there beliefs that cannot be verified on prag- 11. What are the implications of accepting pragma-
matic grounds? Consider beliefs about the tism, or instrumentalism, for logic, psychology,
meaning of life, the worth of man, democracy, education, social philosophy, and religion?

Pragmatism ◆ 301
12. What do you consider to be the strengths and quently classified as pragmatists (for example,
weaknesses of pragmatism as a general philoso- C. I. Lewis, G. H. Mead, Ernest Nagel). Choose
phy of life? one person, not discussed in this chapter, and
13. The index of The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, un- write a short report that brings out some of the
der “Pragmatism,” lists references to figures fre- distinctive ideas stressed by him or her.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Suggested Readings

Boydston, J. A. (ed). Guide to the Works of John Rorty, R. Consequences of Pragmatism: Essays 1972–
Dewey. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University 1980. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minne-
Press, 1970. sota Press, 1982.
A group of scholars have collaborated to pro- The author interprets the story of philosophy
duce this valuable guide to the writings and from Plato to the contemporary period and sug-
thinking of John Dewey in a dozen different gests a new role for philosophy in contemporary
fields. culture.

Boydston, J. A. (ed.). John Dewey: The Collected Smith, J. E. America’s Philosophical Vision. Chicago:
Works. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois Uni- University of Chicago Press, 1992.
versity Press, 1975–1991. The author proposes that American philoso-
Dewey’s writings have been collected in thirty- phers like Peirce, James, Royce, and Dewey have
seven volumes: Early Works 1882–1898 (5 vols.); forged a unique philosophical tradition—one
Middle Works 1899–1924 (15 vols.); and Later that is rich and complex enough to represent a
Works 1925–1953 (17 vols.), with an index pub- genuine alternative to the analytic, phenomeno-
lished in 1992. logical, and hermeneutical traditions that have
originated in Britain or Europe.
James, W. Pragmatism. New York: Longmans,
Green, 1907. (Also Meridian paperback, 1965). ———. Purpose and Thought: The Meaning of Prag-
The beginner should start with these “popular matism. London and New Haven: Hutchinson
essays” before reading The Meaning of Truth; and Yale University Press, 1978.
A Pluralistic Universe; and The Will to Believe In this book, the author sets out to rescue the
by the same author. philosophical ideas of pragmatism from obscur-
ity and misunderstanding. He discusses the
Morris, C. The Pragmatic Movement in American pragmatic theory of meaning, the relationship
Philosophy. New York: Braziller, 1970. between the nature of action and thought,
Pragmatism is seen as a unified movement of and contrasts the meaning of experience to the
ideas in which four leading exponents—Peirce, pragmatists with the meaning of experience
James, Dewey, and Mead—have unique but not in empiricism.
conflicting points of emphasis.
———. The Spirit of American Philosophy. New York:
Murphy, J. P. Pragmatism: From Peirce to Davidson. Oxford University Press, 1963.
Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1990. Using Peirce, James, Royce, Dewey, and White-
A comprehensive discussion of American prag- head as examples, the author says that American
matism which traces the development of prag- philosophy has its own original spirit. This spirit
matism from Peirce through post-Quinean is found in three basic beliefs: that thinking is an
pragmatism. activity, that ideas must make a difference, and
that progress is guaranteed by the application of
knowledge.

302 ◆ Chapter 14
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Notes

1. J. E. Smith, The Spirit of American Philosophy 6. W. James, Essays in Radical Empiricism (New
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1963), York: Longmans, Green, 1922), p. 42.
p. 198. 7. J. Dewey, Creative Intelligence (New York:
2. W. James, Pragmatism (New York: Longmans, Octagon Books, 1970), p. 7.
Green, 1907), pp. 54–55. 8. J. Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum
3. It was to this paper that James referred in his (Chicago: University of Chicago Phoenix
address of 1898 “Philosophical Conceptions Books, 1902) with The School and Society
and Practical Results,” in which he established (Chicago: University of Chicago Phoenix
Peirce as the founder of Pragmatism. The paper Books, 1900), p. 15.
is reprinted in J. J. McDermott, ed., The Writ- 9. R. J. Bernstein, ed., On Experience, Nature,
ings of William James (New York: Random and Freedom: Representative Selections from John
House, 1967), pp. 345–62. Dewey (New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1960), p. xii.
4. James, Pragmatism, p. 33. 10. J. Dewey, A Common Faith (New Haven: Yale
5. W. James, The Will to Believe and Other Essays University Press, 1934), p. 51.
(New York: Longmans, Green, 1896), p. vii.

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