Pragmatism in philosophy (W. James, C. Pearce, D. Dewey)

Pragmatism in philosophy emerged in the seventies of the XIX century, the main ideas of the flow were expressed by Charles Pierce. Pragmatists believed that they completely reformed the philosophy, abandoning its basic principles and deciding to use their own approach to the consideration of human life. The fundamental idea of the flow is a practical relation to the life of each individual. Pragmatism in philosophy, briefly, offers not to waste time on solving theoretical problems that have nothing to do with reality, but to be interested only in human, pressing problems and consider everything from the point of view of one's own benefit. As mentioned above, the founder of the movement was Charles Pierce. It is important to note that his philosophical teaching is not limited solely to pragmatism and its justification. Pierce says that thinking is necessary only to develop a sustainable belief, that is, a conscious willingness to act in one way or another in each specific case. Knowledge in his philosophy is not a transition from ignorance to knowledge, but movement from doubt to firm belief. Pierce believes that belief is true in the event that an action based on it leads to the corresponding practical result. The so-called "Pierce principle" defines all pragmatism in philosophy, the whole essence of human ideas is exhausted by real (practical) results, which can be extracted from them. Also from the teachings of Pierce follow three main ideas of the direction:

• Thinking is the achievement of subjective psychological satisfaction;
• Truth is that which manifests itself in the form of a practical result;
• Things are a combination of practical consequences.

William James, a follower of Pierce's ideas, says that each person has his own philosophy. Reality is multifaceted, and each individual has his own way of perceiving it, and the totality of all these methods leads to the creation of a pluralistic picture of the world. Truth is that, more than anything, it approaches a concrete life situation and is most consistent with the experience of each individual person. Pragmatism in James's philosophy also takes as a basis the perception of truth as something that has a practical embodiment. His famous quote: "Truth is a credit card that is valid only under certain conditions."

Contemporary Western philosophy, John Dewey's pragmatism, regards the teaching of the whole direction as having the greatest impact on the United States. Dewey claimed that he created the philosophy of a democratic society. He developed the theory of scientific research, but the science in his teaching is only a method by which people take the most optimal actions. Objective knowledge about the world is impossible. Cognition is an active intervention of a subject in the process of research, an experiment on an object. Thinking serves to solve problem situations. Reality is created in the process of scientific research. Various products of social activities (laws, ideas) do not reflect reality, but serve to gain practical benefit in a particular situation.