Pragmatics and Semantics
Many contemporary philosophical approaches focus on semantics. Brandom for instance is a focus on the meaning of words (albeit from a pragmatic viewpoint).
Others take a more comprehensive perspective on pragmatics, such as relevance theory, which attempts to study the underlying processes involved in an utterance made by a hearer. However, this approach tends to ignore other aspects of pragmatism, such as epistemic debates over truth.
What exactly is pragmatism?
Pragmatism provides a different perspective to continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. It was developed by Charles Sanders Peirce and expanded by his friend and colleague William James, and later developed by Josiah Royce. It was influential in areas of inquiry that ranged from theology to philosophy of science, but also found its place in the philosophy of ethics and politics, aesthetics, philosophy of language and social theory. The pragmatist tradition continues develop.
The pragmatic maxim is at the center of classical pragmatism. It is a rule that clarifies the meaning of hypotheses via their 'practical implications', or their implications for the experiences of specific situations. This gives rise to a distinctive epistemological outlook that is a form of 'inquiry-based epistemology' and an anti-Cartesian explanation of the norms that govern inquiry. Early pragmatists, however, generally disagreed on the issue of whether pragmatism should conceive of itself as a scientific philosophy that is based on a monism regarding truth (following Peirce), or a broad-based alethic pluralism (James and Dewey).
One of the major concerns for philosophers who are pragmatists is understanding what knowledge actually is. Certain pragmatists like Rorty are likely to be skeptical of knowledge that rests on a foundation of 'immediate experiences. Others, like Peirce or James are skeptical of the correspondence theory, which asserts that the most authentic beliefs are those which accurately reflect reality.
Other topics in pragmatism are the relationship between reality and beliefs and the nature of human rationality, the role of virtues and values and the significance of life. Pragmatists have also come up with a wide range of theories and methods in areas such as semiotics and philosophy of language, the philosophy of religion as well as ethics, philosophy of science and theology. Some, such as Peirce and Royce, are epistemological relativists, while others argue that such relativism is completely wrong. A resurgence of the classical pragmatism movement in the late 20th century has resulted in a myriad of new developments, such as a 'near-side' pragmatics that is concerned with resolving confusion and ambiguity and the use of proper names, indexicals, demonstratives, and anaphors, and a 'far-side pragmatics that focuses on the semantics of discourses.
What is the connection between what you say and what you do?
Semantics and Pragmatics are often seen as being on opposite ends of a continuum, with semantics on the near side and pragmatics on the other. Carston for instance claims that modern pragmatics follows at least three main lines: those who see it as a philosophy in the tradition of Grice, those who focus its interaction with grammar and those who are concerned with the interpretation of utterances. Near-side pragmatics is thought to include such issues as resolution of ambiguity and vagueness, reference to proper names, indexicals and demonstratives, anaphors, and presupposition. It is also believed to address some issues that involve specific descriptions.
What is the connection between semantics and pragmatism?
The study of pragmatics is the study and application of meaning in language within a context. It is a component of linguistics which studies the way that people employ language to convey various meanings. It is often contrasted with semantics, which looks at the literal meaning of words in sentences or in larger chunks of speech.
The relationship between pragmatics, semantics and their interrelationships is complex. The most important distinction is that pragmatics considers other factors that go beyond the literal meaning of words, like the intended meaning as well as the context in which the utterance was spoken. This gives a more naive understanding of the meaning behind an expression. Semantics is also restricted to the relationship between words, while pragmatics is more concerned with the relationships between interlocutors (people who are engaged in conversations) and their contextual features.
In recent decades, the neopragmatism movement has been heavily focusing 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. Some neopragmatists, however, are currently working on metaethics that is based on the concepts of classical pragmatism regarding practicality and experiences.
Classical pragmatics was first created by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Both were influential thinkers who wrote numerous books. Their work is still highly considered today.
While pragmatism may be a viable alternative to the traditional philosophical traditions of continental and analytic but it's not without its critics. For instance some philosophers have argued that pragmatism is just a form of deconstructionism and is not an entirely new philosophical concept.
In addition to these criticisms, pragmatism has been challenged by technological and scientific advancements. For example, pragmatists have struggled to reconcile their views on science with the development of evolutionary theory, which was created by a non-pragmatist Richard Dawkins.
Despite these difficulties, pragmatism is still growing in popularity across the globe. It is a third option to continental and analytic philosophy traditions, and has many practical application. It is a rapidly growing field of study. Many schools of thought have developed and incorporated pragmatism elements in their own philosophical frameworks. Whether you are looking to learn more about pragmatism or pragmatickr using it in your everyday life, there are many resources available.