Pragmatism

Casler, C; Pierides, D

doi:10.4337/9781800377721.00099

Pragmatism

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Dean Pierides ORCiD

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Abstract

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that originated in its classical form amongst members of a conversation club who met initially at Harvard University and later at Johns Hopkins University in the 1870s (on the 'metaphysical club', see: Menand, 2001). Although understood to be a distinctly American philosophy, it was subsequently shaped by further developments in Europe (see: Thayer, 1968). Likewise, classical pragmatism is the basis for, but must be differentiated from neo-pragmatism which developed from the 1990s onwards (see: Gert, 2023). Classical pragmatism is most associated with the work of Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, John Dewey and George Herbert Mead, who draw our attention to the importance of human experience as a testing ground for the practical application of ideas in action. Neo-pragmatism is most associated with the work of Richard Rorty who emphasises the contingency of language in shaping intellectual and cultural practices, and in the work of Hilary Putnam who seeks to reconcile scientific realism with a Deweyan commitment to democracy and pluralism. There is no straightforward consensus amongst pragmatists about what pragmatism is and one of the key challenges of adopting a pragmatist philosophy is working out what one actually means by pragmatism (for an authoritative account of different options in organisation studies, see: Lorino, 2018). The paragraphs below are not intended to be an outline or summary of everything there is to know about pragmatism and should rather be read as a discussion of fruitful points of departure for critical management studies now.