My father always said I was a pragmatic person. I never really understood what that meant until now. Being pragmatic means that you think rationally and practically, using thought as a tool for problem solving. Pragmatists are more concerned with achieving effective results than with sticking to an ideology or theory of how things are supposed to work in an ideal universe. In solving a problem, a pragmatist will incorporate both emotional and practical logic, to achieve a workable approach or solution.
Pragmatism is a philosophy that believes an individual’s sense of knowledge comes from his or her own experiences and interactions that they have with the environment (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009). Due to the constant changes in people’s surroundings, the truths that people believe are also subject to change. As reality changes, the knowledge and beliefs that we hold to be true also change.
Pragmatists do not believe in universal truths. Pragmatists are very specific and goal-oriented individuals with the understanding that things change. People who are pragmatic deal with situations as they are happening at that moment. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are abilities that are established and thrived in pragmatic people (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009).
Charles Sanders Peirce, a mathematician and the ‘father of pragmatism’, developed the basic principles that created the pragmatist philosophy (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009). Other theorist who contributed to the pragmatism philosophy were Charles Darwin and William James. Another major pragmatist is John Dewey, who believed that pragmatism in education was a way to improve the human condition (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009).
Pragmatism is a philosophy that believes an individual’s sense of knowledge comes from his or her own experiences and interactions that they have with the environment (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009). Due to the constant changes in people’s surroundings, the truths that people believe are also subject to change. As reality changes, the knowledge and beliefs that we hold to be true also change.
Pragmatists do not believe in universal truths. Pragmatists are very specific and goal-oriented individuals with the understanding that things change. People who are pragmatic deal with situations as they are happening at that moment. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are abilities that are established and thrived in pragmatic people (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009).
Charles Sanders Peirce, a mathematician and the ‘father of pragmatism’, developed the basic principles that created the pragmatist philosophy (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009). Other theorist who contributed to the pragmatism philosophy were Charles Darwin and William James. Another major pragmatist is John Dewey, who believed that pragmatism in education was a way to improve the human condition (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2009).