pragmatism

UK/ˈpɹaɡmətɪzəm/US/ˈpɹæɡmətɪzəm/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #12,716 of 15,258leans written

Pragmatism is dealing with things as they actually are. Political pragmatism, a note of pragmatism, pragmatism over principle.

In ordinary use it is praise for practicality and a mild accusation of having no principles, depending on tone. In philosophy it is a named American school holding that the meaning of an idea lies in its practical effects.

Definitions of pragmatism

1nounpragmatismDealing with things as they actually are.C1
“With typical pragmatism, she accepted the smaller offer rather than risk losing the deal.”

pragmatism is an approach.

Where it comes from

Greek pragma means a deed or thing done, from prassein, to do.

Built from

πρᾶγμα · Ancient Greek — act

From Ancient Greek - stem of πρᾶγμα (“act”) + -ism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

pragmatism in the wild

Charles Sanders Peirce was an American scientist, mathematician, logician, and philosopher who is sometimes known as "the father of pragmatism".
Charles Sanders Peirce
Along with Charles Sanders Peirce, James established the philosophical school known as pragmatism, and is also cited as one of the founders of functional psychology.
William James
In his view his pragmatism is, strictly speaking, not itself a whole philosophy, but instead a general method for the clarification of ideas.
Pragmaticism
Pragmatic ethics is a theory of normative philosophical ethics and meta-ethics that is associated with pragmatism, a philosophical movement that developed around the turn of the 20th century.
Pragmatic ethics

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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