Applied Pragmatic Theory

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the American philosophy of pragmatism. The paper reviews the application of pragmatisms in five selected areas of professional practice: technology, law, politics, medical and social work, and education. Each area is examined for evidence that the ideas of pragmatism have been taken up academically in the research literature. The literature is then examined for evidence that the academic work has permeated the actions of professionals. Each of the chosen practice areas is clearly dominated by pragmatic, instrumental activities. Despite this and a good deal of discussion in the academic literature, there is only limited evidence that professionals, in so far as they exhibit pragmatist behaviour, make any explicit connection with the philosophy of pragmatism. The early pragmatists argued that pragmatic behaviour arises from man's need to solve problems quickly, using his limited understanding of the situation, in order to survive and flourish: no philosophy had been required to guide such behaviour. Today, philosophy is often consulted on questions of ethical and moral dilemmas in most practice areas, but the philosophy of pragmatism may well not feature in such discussions. Experience in operational research (OR) practice is reviewed and compared with that in the five other practice areas. From the reviews, a list of the habits and orientations is synthesized, habits and orientations that could be taken to characterize pragmatism in professional practice. K E Y W O R D S applied philosophy, pragmatism, pragmatism in OR, process of OR, professional practice 1 | INTRODUCTION The aim of the paper is to explore how the philosophy of American pragmatism has been utilized in professional practice and how this can be crystalized into guidance for future professional practice in general and operational research (OR) in particular. The approach taken has been (i) to describe the philosophical approach of the originators of pragmatism in terms of logic, method and social context; (ii) to search the literature of selected professions for evidence of pragmatism being utilized or exhibited in their practice; (iii) to examine how OR has engaged with pragmatism and how it is reflected in its activities; and (iv) to crystalize the evidence of pragmatic behaviour in professional practice into a list of habits and behaviours reflecting a pragmatic orientation, in other

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in the American philosophy of pragmatism. The paper reviews the application of pragmatisms in five selected areas of professional practice: technology, law, politics, medical and social work, and education. Each area is examined for evidence that the ideas of pragmatism have been taken up academically in the research literature. The literature is then examined for evidence that the academic work has permeated the actions of professionals. Each of the chosen practice areas is clearly dominated by pragmatic, instrumental activities. Despite this and a good deal of discussion in the academic literature, there is only limited evidence that professionals, in so far as they exhibit pragmatist behaviour, make any explicit connection with the philosophy of pragmatism. The early pragmatists argued that pragmatic behaviour arises from man's need to solve problems quickly, using his limited understanding of the situation, in order to survive and flourish: no philosophy had been required to guide such behaviour. Today, philosophy is often consulted on questions of ethical and moral dilemmas in most practice areas, but the philosophy of pragmatism may well not feature in such discussions. Experience in operational research (OR) practice is reviewed and compared with that in the five other practice areas. From the reviews, a list of the habits and orientations is synthesized, habits and orientations that could be taken to characterize pragmatism in professional practice. K E Y W O R D S applied philosophy, pragmatism, pragmatism in OR, process of OR, professional practice 1 | INTRODUCTION The aim of the paper is to explore how the philosophy of American pragmatism has been utilized in professional practice and how this can be crystalized into guidance for future professional practice in general and operational research (OR) in particular. The approach taken has been (i) to describe the philosophical approach of the originators of pragmatism in terms of logic, method and social context; (ii) to search the literature of selected professions for evidence of pragmatism being utilized or exhibited in their practice; (iii) to examine how OR has engaged with pragmatism and how it is reflected in its activities; and (iv) to crystalize the evidence of pragmatic behaviour in professional practice into a list of habits and behaviours reflecting a pragmatic orientation, in other