No particular results then, so far, but only an attitude of orientation, is what the pragmatic method means. The attitude of looking away from first things, principles, 'categories,' supposed necessities; and of looking towards last things, fruits, consequences, facts.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- James defines the pragmatic method as focusing on consequences and facts rather than abstract principles.
- In plain terms
- Pragmatism means looking at results, not abstract rules.
- What can you take from it?
- Focus on results and facts, not abstract principles.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Should we ignore principles?
- How do we define facts?
Another view
Some principles have value beyond immediate results.
More from William James
For the philosophy which is so important in each of us is not a technical matter; it is our more or less dumb sense of what life honestly and deeply means. It …
Permalink to quote #104 I myself believe that the evidence for God lies primarily in inner personal experiences.
Permalink to quote #106 Such a conscription, with the state of public opinion that would have required it, and the many moral fruits it would bear, would preserve in the midst of a pa…
Permalink to quote #103
Related quotes
All the world over and at all times there have been practical men, absorbed in 'irreducible and stubborn facts': all the world over and at all times there have…
Alfred North WhiteheadAlfred North Whitehead quote #10 The end must justify the means.
Matthew PriorMatthew Prior quote #2 Exitus acta probat.
OvidOvid quote #3