Summary
Pragmatism proposes that a concept's meaning resides in the practical consequences it produces, asserting that theories are instruments for changing realities, not resting places. This approach opposes intellectualism and rationalism, emphasizing that ideas are valuable for their ability to guide us prosperously through experience, rather than for abstract consistency. The book argues that truth itself is a form of good, akin to health or wealth, and that truth grows and is expedient thinking.
The book introduces "noetic pluralism" and examines common sense as one stage in mental evolution, distinct from "critical" scientific and philosophic stages. It posits that concepts are rooted in potential differences of practice, involving expected sensations and prepared reactions. Pragmatism evaluates philosophical problems like materialism, design, and free-will by what they promise practically, advocating for a reliance on empirical findings over monistic dogmatism.
Key concepts
- Pragmatism — A method for determining the meaning of a thought by examining the conduct it is fitted to produce.
- Noetic pluralism — The idea that knowledge grows and earlier ways of thinking remain alongside newer, critical stages.
- Verifiability — The ability of a concept or truth to guide us prosperously through experience, constituting agreement with reality.
- Expedient thinking — The notion that truth is a good, and thinking is valuable when it is advantageous.
- Common sense concepts — Fundamental ideas like space, time, 'things,' kinds, 'cause,' and 'law,' discovered by early ancestors.
From the book
But to-day, whatever be the limits that we may grant or refuse to the
Our earth is only one among the six principal satellites of our sun. As
Thus the part of the Universe which we know, being almost lost in