pragmatism

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a philosophical tradition that evaluates ideas partly through their practical consequences and role in inquiry

   Pragmatism asks what practical difference accepting a belief would make.

2. 2
   noun

   a practical approach that emphasizes workable results over theory or principle

   Budget constraints forced the committee to temper idealism with pragmatism.

From Greek pragma ("deed, action, practical matter") + -ism. Charles Sanders Peirce introduced the philosophical term in the late nineteenth century; William James later popularized it.

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