different between pragmatism vs pragmatist

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek stem of ?????? (prâgma, “act”) + -ism.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?æ?m?t?z?m/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?p?a?m?t?z?m/

Noun

pragmatism (countable and uncountable, plural pragmatisms)

1. The pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities; a concentration on facts rather than emotions or ideals.
2. (politics) The theory that political problems should be met with practical solutions rather than ideological ones.
3. (philosophy) The idea that beliefs are identified with the actions of a believer, and the truth of beliefs with success of those actions in securing a believer's goals; the doctrine that ideas must be looked at in terms of their practical effects and consequences.
   • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, p. 378:

     Our conception of these practical consequences is for us the whole of our conception of the object [...] This is the principle of Peirce, the principle of pragmatism.

4. The habit of interfering in other people's affairs; meddlesomeness.

Antonyms

• idealism
• contemplation

Related terms

• pragmatic
• pragmatically
• pragmatist

Translations

Romanian

Etymology

From French pragmatisme

Noun

pragmatism n (uncountable)

1. pragmatism

Declension

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????? (prâgma, “thing”).

Noun

pragmatist (plural pragmatists)

1. One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.

   A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers.

2. One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.

   I'm not a thief, I am a pragmatist. I need this bread to feed my family.

   We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain: he's an opportunist and a pragmatist.

3. One who belongs to the philosophic school of pragmatism; one who holds that the meaning of beliefs are the actions they entail, and that the truth of those beliefs consist in the actions they entail successfully leading a believer to their goals.
   • 2007, John Lachs and Robert Talisse, American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia, p. 310.

     [S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world.

4. (politics) An advocate of pragmatism.
5. (linguistics) one who studies pragmatics.

Translations

Related terms

• pragma
• pragmatically
• pragmatics
• pragmatism

Adjective

pragmatist (comparative more pragmatist, superlative most pragmatist)

1. (politics) Advocating pragmatism.

   • Historians also suggest that Roosevelt was a pragmatist in foreign affairs, in that his policies were determined by practical consequences rather than by any philosophy.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French pragmatisme.

Noun

pragmatist m (plural pragmati?ti)

1. pragmatist

Declension

Related terms

• pragmatic
• pragmatism