pragmatism, n.Definitions

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Just make invidious comparisons between the actual present and a possible, if inchoate, future.

Pragmatism is a method of ascertaining the meanings of hard words and of abstract concepts.

Pragmatism is a theory of truth as well as a theory of meaning.

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Instead of appealing from the transitory current appearances to the permanent reality, appeal to a still only dimly imagined future practice.

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Drop the appeal to neutral criteria, and the claim that something large like nature or reason or history or the moral law is on the side of the oppressed.

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Do not criticize a current social practice as a result of ideology or prejudice, where these are tacitly contrasted with your own employment of a truth-tracking faculty called 'reason' or a neutral method called 'disinterested observation.'.

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Do not even criticize a current social practice as 'unjust' if 'unjust' is supposed to mean more than 'sometimes incoherent even on its own terms'.

Pragmatism is a movement that says: Do not charge a current social practice or a currently spoken language with being unfaithful to reality, with getting things wrong.