Pragmatics and Semantics
A variety of contemporary pragmatics theories based on philosophy focus on semantics. For instance, Brandom focuses on linguistic meaning (albeit from a pragmatic perspective).
Others take a more holistic approach to pragmatics, such as relevance theory, that aims to understand how an expression is understood by the hearer. This approach tends to ignore other aspects of pragmatics, like epistemic discussions on truth.
What is pragmatism?
Pragmatism is a viable alternative to continental philosophy and analytic philosophy. Charles Sanders Peirce conceived it, and William James extended it. Later, Josiah Royce developed the philosophy. It was influential in a variety of areas of inquiry that span from theology to philosophy of science, but also found its place in the philosophy of ethics, politics, aesthetics, philosophy of language and social theory. The pragmatist tradition continues grow.
The fundamental premise of classical pragmatism is the pragmatic maxim, a rule for defining the significance of hypotheses by tracing their 'practical consequences' - their implications for experience in specific circumstances. This creates a distinctive epistemological outlook that is a form of 'inquiry-based epistemology' and an anti-Cartesian interpretation of the rules that govern inquiry. The early pragmatists were divided on whether pragmatism was a science-based philosophy that adopted an ethos of truth (following Peirce) or a broad alethic pluralitism (James and Dewey).
A major concern for philosophers of the pragmatist tradition is how to understand knowledge. Rorty is a pragmatist who is skeptical of any theories of knowledge that are founded on 'immediate experience'. Others, like Peirce and James are skeptical of the correspondence theory of truth that holds that the most authentic beliefs are those that represent reality 'correctly'.
Other issues in pragmatism include the relationship between belief and reality, the nature of human rationality, the importance of virtues and values and the meaning of life. Pragmatists have also come up with a wide range of theories and methods in areas such as semiotics and philosophy of language, philosophy of religion as well as philosophy of science, ethics and theology. Some, like Peirce and Royce, are epistemological relativists, while others argue that such relativity is a serious misguided idea. The latter half of the 20th century saw an increase in interest in classical pragmatics. This led to a number new developments. These include a "near-side" pragmatics that is focused on the resolution of ambiguity, indexicals, demonstratives, and anaphors. There is also a "far-side" pragmatics which analyzes the semantics in discourses.
What is the relationship between what is said and what happens?
Semantics and Pragmatics are often seen as being on opposite sides of a continuum with semantics on the close side and pragmatics on the other side. Carston, for example asserts that there are at a minimum three general lines of contemporary pragmatics that are: those who see it as a philosophy along the lines of Grice or others who focus on its interaction with grammar; and those who are concerned with the interpretation of utterances. Near-side pragmatics is believed include such issues as resolution of ambiguity and ambiguity, reference to proper names, indexicals and demonstratives, anaphors, as well as presupposition. It is also believed to address some issues that involve explicit descriptions.
What is the connection between pragmatics and semantics?
The study of pragmatics is the study and application of meanings in language within a context. It is a part of linguistics which studies the way people use language to convey different meanings. It is often compared with semantics, which examines the literal meaning of words in a sentence or chunk of discourse.
The relationship between semantics and pragmatism is a complex one. The primary difference is that pragmatics considers other aspects besides literal meanings of words, such as the intended meaning and the context in which a statement was made. This gives a more naive understanding of the meaning behind an expression. Semantics also focuses on the relationship between words, whereas pragmatics is more concerned with the relationships between interlocutors (people engaged in an exchange) and their contextual aspects.
In recent decades the neopragmatism movement has been focusing heavily on the philosophy of metaphilosophy and language. This has largely abandoned classical pragmatism's metaphysics and value theory. However, some neopragmatists have been developing an ethics that draws from the ideas of pragmatics from classical pragmatism and experience.
Classical pragmatics was first developed by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James. Both were influential thinkers who wrote a number books. Their works are still widely thought of today.
Although pragmatism offers an alternative to the analytic and continental philosophical mainstream, it's not without critics. For example, some philosophers have argued that pragmatism is simply a form of deconstructionism and is not really an entirely new philosophical concept.
In addition to these critics, pragmatism was challenged by technological and scientific developments. For instance, pragmatists have struggled with reconciling their views on science with the evolution theory, which was developed Richard Dawkins, a non-pragmatist.
Despite these difficulties, pragmatism continues to grow in its popularity throughout the world. It is a third option to continental and analytic philosophy traditions, and it has a variety of practical applications. Highly recommended Website is a rapidly growing area of inquiry, with numerous schools of thought forming and incorporating aspects of pragmatism into their own philosophy. If you are looking to learn more about pragmatism or using it in your day-to-day life, there are plenty of sources available.