Quotes About Pragmatism

From the earliest beginnings of Lyndon Johnson's political life—from his days at college when he had captured control of campus politics—his tactics had consistently revealed a pragmatism and a cynicism that had no discernible limits.

That campaign raises, in fact, one of the greatest issues invoked by the life of Lyndon Baines Johnson; the relationship between means and ends. Many of the ends of Lyndon Johnson's life, civil rights, in particular, perhaps, but others too, were noble. Heroic advances in the cause of social justice....Those noble ends would not have been possible without the means, far from noble, that brought Johnson to power...To what extent are ends inseparable from means?

Pragmatism had shaded into the morality of the ballot box, a morality in which nothing matters but victory and any maneuver that leads to victory is justified—into a morality that is amorality.

We're simply trying to survive—and the first principle of survival is not to worry about the impossible and concentrate on what's possible.

Pragmatism has a family resemblance to existentialism and phenomenology and arose out of the same social manifold. This philosophy, or method, derives chiefly from William James — a man so complex that his books land in the philosophy section of some bookstores and libraries, the psychology section elsewhere, and sometimes even appear in the religion section. Like existentialism, pragmatism rejects spooky abstractions and most of the vocabulary of traditional philosophy.

Instrumentalism a la John Dewey follows pragmatism in general, but especially emphasizes that the validity or utility of an idea — we have gotten rid of truth, remember? — derives from the instruments used in testing the idea, and will change as instruments improve. Like the other theories discussed thus far, Instrumentalism has had more direct influence on social science (and educational theory) than on physical science, although vastly influenced by physical science.

Operationalism, created by Nobel physicist Percy W. Bridgman, attempts to deal with the common sense objections to Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, and owes a great deal to pragmatism and instrumentalism. Bridgman explicitly pointed out that common sense derives unknowingly from some tenets of ancient philosophy and speculation — particularly Platonic Idealism and Aristotelian essentialism — and that this philosophy assumes many axioms that now appear either untrue or unprovable.

Can you analyze our relationship in the light of Silvermanian pragmatism?" I said. "I love you because I find it compelling to be loved so entirely. You love me because as long as you do you can believe in romantic love.

Because moralists in these matters are always driven by righteous passion, whenever you disagree with them, you are by definition immoral and deserve no quarter; whereas realists, precisely because they are used to conflict, are less likely to overreact to it.

Whatever works, that's my philosophy. I don't care if it's magic beans or a prayer cloth dipped in the Jordan River.

It's very simple: what are we gaining—excuse me if I'm repeating myself—what are we gaining by a pragmatism that robs our life of poetry, dreams, mysticism—are these all lies? What is truth? Can you tell me that? We can only struggle along by using symbols, and we change them as we alter our views. By the way, let's not neglect our drinks.

It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice.

Yellow cat, black cat, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.

Like his brothers before him, age had robbed Ham of the innocence of his childhood faith. He had exchanged his wide-eyed belief in the Almighty for a pragmatic skepticism of anything he couldn't experience with his senses. Now, when he needed a spiritual pillar to lean on, it wasn't there. Can you show it to me? Noah knelt beside his son to pray.

Idealism without pragmatism is impotent. Pragmatism without idealism is meaningless. The key to effective leadership is pragmatic idealism.

The Band-Aid solution is actually the best kind of solution because it involves solving a problem with the minimum amount of effort and time and cost.

Don't ask what it means, but rather how it is used.

I never say 'never,' and I never say 'always.'

But the means—he was less certain that the means were above reproach. But what can a man do, or a woman either, but use what comes to hand?

We should adopt his principles and govern men as they are and not as what we'd like them to be.

I am a practical girl.

I have a sort of long-term plan to direct. I'm pragmatic about it. I realize I don't need to rush it or force it.

I don't believe in that kind of pragmatic career ladder stuff.

I'm really pragmatic. That's my reality.