What is Pragmatism?
Standing between continental and analytic philosophy.
Pragmatism is labeled as an “American” philosophy by Hilary Putnam, who understands it as a standpoint between continental (modern European) and analytic philosophy (logicism). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) and William James (1842–1910) are the main first pragmatic theorists and here are some ways in which pragmatism is defined, and briefly why I think these are weak definitions:
1) They believe “that a claim is true if and only if it is useful”. (Legg, C. and Hookway, C. in Stanford Enciclopedia of Philosophy).
But useful to whom?
2) They “try to philosophize in ways that are relevant to the real problems of real human beings”. (Ruth Anna Putnam, in Pragmatism and Realism).
But “unreal human beings” do exist?
3) For them “all philosophical concepts should be tested via scientific experimentation” (Legg, C. and Hookway, C. in Stanford Enciclopedia of Philosophy).
