Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Philosophy of Pragmatism

This research examines the philosophy of pragmatism vis-à-vis other philosophical approaches to truth and the connection of pragmatism and other philosophies to questions of decision making and leadership in a corporate setting. The research will set forth issue fronts approached by traditional philosophies of knowledge and then discuss how the approaches to truth taken by these traditional philosophies compare with that of pragmatism, with a view toward identifying the relative utility and drawbacks of pragmatism where the assertion of a leadership role becomes an issue.

Traditional philosophies of knowledge explore what is true, while other areas of philosophy deal with what is real and what is good or beautiful. To say that knowing what is true involves both knowledge and truth is to appreciate two distinct branches of philosophical investigation. Epistemology is the name given to the theory of knowledge (Moser & Nat, 1995, p. 3). But what it is important to point out is that knowledge per se is only one aspect of philosophy, unless what is known can be confidently held to be accurate, i.e., true. What is known must involve a condition of the mind, but it may also involve a condition of the physical senses. This leads to a distinction between knowledge that is an attribute of belief and knowledge that is an attribute of experience. Moser and Nat cite (1995, p. 3) the distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge, the former having to do with solely mental processes of reason, lacking in evidentiary support, and the latter having to do with knowledge based on material evidence. They also point out that some philosophers accept while others reject the possibility that a priori knowledge is possible, and that still other philosophers make distinctions between kinds of a priori and a posteriori knowledge. For example, Kant, writing in the 18th century, uses the term "pure" reason to examine a priori knowledge and "practica...

Page 1 of 8 Next >

More on Philosophy of Pragmatism...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Philosophy of Pragmatism. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 13:35, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1683141.html