Lecture 20 Pragmatism the rejection of the idea that function of thought is to describe represent or mirror Jaymie Ticknor Intro Philosophy 1050 Sect 003 14 16 and 18 April 2014 reality develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as an instrument or tool for prediction action and problem solving starts with the position that the purpose of philosophy or thinking is not to provide us with a true picture of the world but to help us to act more effectively within it should be asking what are the practical implications of adopting this perspective Does not stand for any special results it is a method only empiricist attitude with an emphasis on openness and plasticity against fixed principles and closed systems dogma artificiality and the finality of truth focus on the concrete rather than the abstract beliefs are rules for action and theories are instruments the whole function of philosophy ought to be to find out what definite difference it will make to you and me if this world formula or that world formula be the true one Theories thus become instruments not answers to enigmas in which we can rest pragmatism unstiffens all our theories limbers them up and sets each one to work Charles Sanders Pierce known as the Father of Pragmatism Greek word pragma meaning act or deed changed it to Pragmaticism John Dewey and William James The Fixation of Belief concerned with belief and truth investigated the aim of inquiry in quieting our doubts by attaining a stable state of belief valuable because it guides our desires and shapes our actions Why inquire make sense of the world around us know how to live according to Pierce we inquire in order to guide our desires and shape our actions Doubt and belief some fundamental differences between doubt and belief Doubt manifested when we ask a question makes us feel uneasy and restless and has no effect on our behavior other than to stimulate inquiry Belief manifested when we make an assertion makes us feel satisfied basis of most of our behavior and basis of reasoning goal of philosopher is to decide which method is the best to show inquiring in order to achieve stability of belief Traditional Methods to Avoid the Irritation of Doubt Method of Tenacity preserving belief is simply to hang on to it as tightly as possible limits impractical as a societal community level Method of Authority enforcing belief political and theological doctrines have upheld in this way whoever deviates from the prevailing belief is subject to punishment sometimes cruel punishment limits authority is limited cannot regulate all fixed beliefs no reason to think it to be superior to that of the others Priori Method philosophers have attempted to find facts that are indisputable in Descartes we take to be indisputable that which we are strongly inclined to believe different people have different inclinations and so we have the kind of relativity that is found from society to society what is thought to be indisputable is also subject to changing fashion universal agreement on certain matters a priori innate undoubtedly Scientific Method best method first said scientist in 1870s fixing belief that is independent of how we or society are inclined to think set a standard for all people s beliefs scientific inquiry we investigate the world regard for the effect of the outcome on our beliefs guide behavior Scientific Theory constructing hypotheses deriving consequences from these hypotheses and experimentally testing these hypotheses truth is what works very different from the traditional view of truth James William consensus beliefs inform our actions the practical implications of adopting this perspective Correspondence Theory truth means correspondence to the facts accurately describes the world as it is James disagrees with this theory James Pragmatic Theory what makes something true is that believing it produces useful practical results for us guides us bring us the best and most benefits how to approach truth Instrumental Theory of Truth any idea that will carry us prosperously from any one part of our experience to any other part linking things satisfactorily working securely simplifying labor is true for just so much true in so far forth true instrumentally Truth as Profitable an idea is true so long as to believe it is profitable to our lives truth is one species of the good not as it usually supposed a unique coordinate category distinct from good true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief and it is good for definite assignable reasons if lived in a world where only false ideas were useful our duty would be to shun truth very subjective vary from person to person Empiricism and Rationalism rationalism sticks to logic of God and the heavens empiricism sticks to the senses pragmatism is open to both John Dewey education is life itself practical problems are not abstract problems divorced from peoples lives sees them as problems that occur because humans are living beings trying to make sense of their world struggling to decide how best to act within it Education called for radical educational reform believes that the child s own instincts activities and interests should be the starting point of education children learn by doing value of play wants to emphasis the interest of the children creating free individuals rather than controlled individuals engine of democracy Education at the Time teacher centered not much say for children expected to listen to lectures the education machine