What is Pragmatism?

William James is the most famous philosopher of Pragmatism and he is the one who made Pragmatism itself famous. To him, Pragmatism was all about value and morality and he argued that ideas and beliefs have value to us only when they work. “Ideas become true just so far as they help us to get into satisfactory relations with other parts of our experience.”

 

 

Should we practise pragmatism?

It is a question of being practical or idealistic. Should we choose practical options simply because we know they work so they have value to us? Or should we follow our ideals and take a chance in life?

 

 

Passion vs Pragmatism

In a world where paper qualifications adorn more than bling blings, many come to a cross junction in life where they wonder which way they should go. Is it to continue their education in a course acknowledged by the world as ‘the right thing to do’ or to turn their backs on society and shout ‘I will not conform!’? There are many examples and testimonies of people whose lives are vastly changed because of their passion or their decision to be pragmatic about their education. What boils down is the fact that each is right in his own way, with their successes proving so. There is indeed no right or wrong in choosing passion over pragmatism and vice versa.

 

For more details, read on about arguments of pragmatism versus passion, or flip back to read about passion again.