Pragmatics and Semantics

Many modern philosophical perspectives focus on semantics. For instance, Brandom focuses on linguistic meaning (albeit from a pragmatic viewpoint).

Others adopt a more holistic approach to pragmatics, such as relevance theory, that aims to determine how an utterance is understood by the hearer. However, this approach tends to neglect other elements of pragmatism, such as epistemic debates on truth.

What is pragmatism, exactly?

Pragmatism is a philosophical outlook that offers a viable alternative to analytic philosophy and continental philosophy. Charles Sanders Peirce initiated the concept, and William James extended it. Later, Josiah Royce developed the philosophy. It had a profound effect on the areas of inquiry ranging from theology of philosophy to philosophy of science as well as ethics and politics, as well as the philosophy of language. The pragmatist tradition continues grow.

The pragmatic maxim is at the core of classical pragmatics. It is a principle that clarifies the meaning of hypotheses by examining their 'practical implications' or their implications for the experiences of particular situations. This is the basis for a distinct epistemological perspective that is a form 'inquiry based epistemology,' and an anti Cartesian explanation of the rules that govern inquiry. Early pragmatists were divided over whether pragmatism was a science-based philosophy that was based on the view that truth is a monism (following Peirce) or a broad alethic pluralitism (James and Dewey).

A central issue for pragmatist philosophers is how to understand knowledge. Rorty is a pragmatist who is skeptical of any notions of knowledge founded on 'immediate experience'. Others, such as Peirce or James are skeptical of the correspondence theory which states that the true beliefs are those which accurately reflect reality.

Pragmatism also addresses the relationship between beliefs, reality, and human rationality. It examines the importance of values and virtues and the purpose and meaning of life. Pragmatists have also developed a broad range of methods and ideas in fields such as semiotics, philosophy of language, the philosophy of religion as well as philosophy of science, ethics and theology. Some, such as Peirce and Royce, are epistemological relativists. However, pragmatickr others contend that this kind of relativism is seriously misguided. The late 20th century saw an increase in interest in classical pragmatics. This resulted in a variety of new developments. These include a "near-side" pragmatics which is concerned with the resolution of ambiguity, indexicals, demonstratives and anaphors, as well as an "far-side" pragmatics which looks at the semantics in discourses.

What is the connection between what you say and what you do?

Semantics and Pragmatics are often seen as being at opposite ends of a continuum, with semantics on the near side and pragmatics on the far side. Carston, for example, argues that there are at least three general lines of contemporary pragmatics: those who view it as a philosophical concept along the lines of Grice and others