pragmatism

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek stem of πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “act”) + -ism.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹæɡmətɪzəm/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɹaɡmətɪzəm/

Noun

pragmatism (countable and uncountable, plural pragmatisms)

1. The pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities; a concentration on facts rather than emotions or ideals.
2. (politics) The theory that political problems should be met with practical solutions rather than ideological ones.
3. (philosophy) The idea that beliefs are identified with the actions of a believer, and the truth of beliefs with success of those actions in securing a believer's goals; the doctrine that ideas must be looked at in terms of their practical effects and consequences.
   • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Folio Society 2008, p. 378:

     Our conception of these practical consequences is for us the whole of our conception of the object [...] This is the principle of Peirce, the principle of pragmatism.

Antonyms

• idealism
• contemplation

Related terms

• pragmatic
• pragmatically
• pragmatist

Translations

pursuit of practicality over aesthetic qualities

• Catalan: pragmatisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實用主義 (zh), 实用主义 (zh) (shíyòngzhǔyì)

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi, pragmaattisuus (fi)
• French: pragmatisme (fr) m
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• German: Pragmatismus (de) m

• Irish: réadúlacht f
• Japanese: プラグマティズム (puragumatizumu), 実用主義 (じつようしゅぎ, jitsuyōshugi)
• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: прагмати́зм (ru) m (pragmatízm)
• Serbo-Croatian: pragmatìzam (sh) m, прагматѝзам m
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m

political theory that problems should be met with/by practical solutions rather than ideological ones

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• Irish: réadúlacht f

• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: прагмати́зм (ru) m (pragmatízm)
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m

philosophical idea that beliefs are identified with the actions of a believer

• Catalan: pragmatisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: pragmatisme (nl) m
• Finnish: pragmatismi
• Galician: pragmatismo (gl) m
• German: Pragmatismus (de) m
• Hungarian: pragmatizmus (hu)

• Irish: réadúlacht f
• Italian: pragmatismo (it) m
• Lithuanian: pragmatika f
• Portuguese: pragmatismo (pt) m
• Romanian: pragmatism (ro) n
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: pragmatismo (es) m
• Turkish: pragmatizm (tr), faydacılık (tr), yararcılık (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} pragmatismo (eo)
• French: ^{(please verify)} pragmatisme (fr) m

• German: ^{(please verify)} Pragmatismus (de) m
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} pragmatizam (sh) m