Many modern philosophical perspectives are based on semantics. Brandom for instance is focused on the significance of words (albeit from a pragmatic viewpoint).
Others take a more holistic approach to pragmatics, such as relevance theory, which aims to explore how an utterance is perceived by the person listening. However, this approach tends to overlook other aspects of pragmatism, like epistemic debates on truth.
What exactly is pragmatism?
Pragmatism is a philosophical outlook that offers an alternative to continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. It was conceived by Charles Sanders Peirce. It was expanded by his friend and colleague William James, Pragmatickr and later developed by Josiah Royce. It was influential in areas of inquiry that ranged from philosophy of science to theology and also found its place in ethics, politics, aesthetics, philosophy of language and social theory. The pragmatist tradition continues grow.
The fundamental premise of classical pragmatism is the pragmatic maxim, a rule for defining the meaning of hypotheses by exploring their 'practical implications' - their implications for specific situations. This is the basis for an epistemological viewpoint that is a form 'inquiry epistemology based on inquiry' and an anti Cartesian explanation of the norms that govern inquiry. Early pragmatists were divided over whether pragmatism was a science-based philosophy that adopted a monism regarding truth (following Peirce) or a broad alethic pluralitism (James and Dewey).
A central issue for pragmatist philosophers is understanding knowledge. Certain pragmatists like Rorty tend to be skeptical of any notion of knowledge based on the basis of 'instantaneous experiences. Others, such as Peirce and James, are sceptical of the theory of correspondence that claims to be true that holds that the most authentic beliefs are those that represent reality in a 'correct' way.
Pragmatism also examines the connection between beliefs, reality, and human rationality. It also examines the role of values and virtues, and the meaning and purpose of existence. Pragmatists also have developed a variety of ideas and methods including those in semiotics and philosophy of language. They also study areas like philosophy of religion, philosophy and theology, ethics, and science. Some, like Peirce and Royce are epistemological relativists. However, others believe that such relativism is completely wrong. The late 20th century saw a revival of interest in classical pragmatics. This resulted in a variety of new developments. These include the concept of a "near-side" pragmatics that is focused on the resolution of ambiguity indexicals, demonstratives, and anaphors, as well as an "far-side" pragmatics that examines the semantics of discourses.
What is the relation between what you say and what you do?
Semantics and Pragmatics are often seen as being on opposite sides of the continuum, with semantics on the near side and pragmatics on the other side. Carston for instance asserts that there are at most three main lines of contemporary pragmatics people who view it as a philosophy based on the lines of Grice or others who focus on its interaction with grammar; and those who are concerned with the interpretation of utterances. Near-side pragmatics covers questions like the resolution of confusion, the use of proper names, indexicals, demonstratives, anaphoras and presupposition. It is also believed to cover some issues involving definite descriptions.
What is the relationship between semantics and pragmatism?
The study of pragmatics is the study and application of meanings in a language context. It is a component of linguistics which studies the way that people employ language to convey various meanings. It is often compared to semantics, which studies the literal meaning of words in the context of a sentence or a larger portion of discourse.
The relationship between pragmatism and semantics is not simple. The main difference is that pragmatics thinks about other aspects besides literal meanings of words, such as the intended meaning and the context the statement was made. This gives a more nuanced understanding to be made of the meaning of a statement. Semantics is also restricted to the relationship between words, while pragmatics is more concerned with the relationships between interlocutors (people engaged in a conversation) and their contextual characteristics.
In recent decades the neopragmatism movement been heavily focused on metaphilosophy as well as the philosophy of language. In this way, it has largely left behind the metaphysics of classical pragmatism and value theory. However, a few neopragmatists are working to develop a metaethics that draws on the ideas of pragmatics from classical pragmatism and experience.
Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and others were among the first to develop classical pragmatics. Both were influential thinkers who wrote numerous books. Their writings are widely read to this day.
While pragmatism may be a viable alternative to the dominant analytic and continental philosophical traditions, it is not without its critics. For instance, some philosophers have argued that pragmatism is just a form of deconstructionism and is not really an entirely new philosophical concept.
In addition to these criticisms, pragmatism has been questioned by scientific and technological developments. For instance, pragmatists have had a difficult time reconciling their views on science with the evolution theory that was created by Richard Dawkins, a non-pragmatist.
Despite these challenges, the pragmatic method continues to gain popularity around the world. It is a third option to analytic and Continental philosophical traditions, and has a wide range of practical applications. It is a growing area of inquiry. Numerous schools of thought have evolved and incorporated aspects of pragmatism within their own philosophy. Whether you are looking to learn more about pragmatism or using it in your daily life, there are a variety of sources available.
