Marisol Dunshea ha scritto 3 settimane fa
Pragmatics and Semantics
Many contemporary philosophical approaches are based on semantics. For instance, Brandom focuses on linguistic meaning (albeit from a pragmatist perspective).
Others take a more comprehensive perspective on pragmatics, such as relevance theory, which aims to study the underlying processes of an utterance by a hearer. This view tends to ignore other elements of pragmatics, like epistemic discussions on truth.
What is pragmatism?
Pragmatism is a philosophical outlook that offers a viable alternative to continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. Charles Sanders Peirce initiated the concept, and William James extended it. Later, Josiah Royce developed the philosophy. It had a profound influence on the areas of inquiry ranging from theology of philosophy to philosophy of science, but also on ethics as well as philosophy of politics and language. The pragmatist tradition continues to grow.
The pragmatic maxim is at the center of classical pragmatism. It is a principle that clarifies the meaning of hypotheses by examining their ‘practical implications’ or their implications for the experience of particular situations. This creates an epistemological viewpoint that is a form ‘inquiry epistemology’ based on inquiry, and an anti Cartesian explanation of the rules that govern inquiry. Early pragmatists were divided over whether pragmatism was a scientific philosophy that was based on the view that truth is a monism (following Peirce) or a broad alethic pluralitism (James & Dewey).
Understanding knowledge is a major concern for pragmatists. Certain pragmatists like Rorty are likely to be skeptical of any notion of knowledge that is based on a foundation of ‘immediate’ experiences. Others, such as Peirce and James are skeptical of the correspondence theory of truth, according to which true beliefs are those that represent reality ‘correctly’.
Other issues in pragmatism include the relationship between reality and beliefs as well as the nature of human rationality, the significance of values and virtues, and the meaning of life. Pragmatists have also come up with a wide range of methods and ideas in fields such as semiotics philosophy of language, philosophy of religion as well as philosophy of science, ethics, and pragmatickr theology. Some, like Peirce or Royce are epistemological relativism, whereas others contend that this kind of relativism is a mistake. A renewed interest in classical pragmatism during the latter half of the 20th century has resulted in a myriad of new developments, such as a ‘near-side’ pragmatism that is concerned with resolution of confusion and ambiguity and the use of proper names, indexicals, demonstratives, and anaphors, and a ‘far side pragmatics that examines the semantics of discourses.
What is the relation between what you say and what you do?
Semantics and Pragmatics can be seen as being on opposite ends of the continuum. On the side that is near, semantics are seen as a concept, whereas pragmatics is located on the far side. Carston for instance claims that modern pragmatics follows at least three major lines: those who see it as an approach to philosophy that is reminiscent of Grice and those who concentrate on its interaction with grammar, and those who are concerned with the meaning of utterances. Near-side pragmatics encompasses issues such as the resolution of unclearness, the use of proper names indexicals, demonstratives, anaphoras, and presupposition. It is also believed to cover some issues involving definite descriptions.
What is the relation between pragmatism and semantics?
Pragmatics is the study of meaning in language placed within context. It is a subset of linguistics and examines the way that people employ words to convey various meanings. It is often compared to semantics, which examines the literal meaning of words within a sentence or larger chunk of speech.
The relationship between pragmatism and semantics, and their interrelationship is complex. The primary difference is that pragmatics takes into account other aspects that are not related to the literal meaning of words, like the intended meaning as well as the context in which the utterance was said. This allows a more nuanced understanding to be made of the meaning of a sentence. Semantics also concentrates on the relationship between words while pragmatics concentrates more on the relationship between interlocutors and their contextual features.
In recent decades, neopragmatism has focused heavily on the philosophy of language and metaphilosophy. It has left behind the value theories and metaphysics of classical pragmatism. Neopragmatists are currently working on metaethics that is based on the principles of classical pragmatism on pragmatics and experiences.
Charles Sanders Peirce, William James and others were the first to introduce classical pragmatics. Both were influential thinkers who published a number of books. Their works are still well-read to this day.
Although pragmatism can be considered an alternative to the mainstream philosophical traditions of continental and analytic however, it does not come without its critics. Certain philosophers, for instance, have argued that deconstructionism is not a truly new philosophical approach and that pragmatism is simply a form.
In addition to these criticisms, pragmatism itself has been questioned by technological and scientific advances. For instance, the pragmatists have had a difficult time reconciling their views on science and the development of the theory of evolution that was created by Richard Dawkins, a non-pragmatist.
Despite these difficulties the pragmatism movement continues to grow in its popularity throughout the world. It is a third alternative to analytic and Continental philosophical traditions, and has a wide range of practical application. It is a rapidly growing field of inquiry and has many schools of thought forming and incorporating aspects of pragmatism into their own philosophy. Whether you are looking to learn more about pragmatism or incorporating it in your day-to-day life, there are many sources available.
