The topic I choose to compare and contrast is what pragmatism and Rationalism. I am going to do this by looking into what their beliefs. Pragmatist believe that an idea or proposition is true if it works satisfactorily and that a meaning of a proposition is to be found in practical consequences of accepting it and that unpractical ideas are to be rejected. Rationalism is defined as the theory in which the criterion for truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive. As I go through comparing and contrasting these two views I am going to talk about their views on foundationalism along with their views of epistemology. Pragmatist believe that an idea or scheme is true if it works adequately. They believe you find the meaning for a proposition or idea in the practical consequences of accepting. Pragmatist believe that there is absolutely no universal truth. They also believe that we should reject any unpractical ideas that are put before us. Pragmatism use a simple link with the concept of knowledge to connect truth and learning together. Pragmatism has been viewed as a way to clarify intractable metaphysical and epistemological disputes. According to pragmatist metaphysicians should ask themselves what physical difference it would make if the theory they believe in was to be true and its opposing theory false. Pragmatist lean toward the concept of verificationism. Verificationism is the doctrine that a proposition is only cognitively meaningful if it can be definitively
Rationalism is the theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than religious belief or emotional, while empiricism is the theory that knowledge is derived from senses-experience which stimulated the rise of experimental science. The philosophers Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume all have different views on the existence and nature of external objects. Some see it as the view on objects as everything is sense related other see it that it is all from thought but the object is not existent.
Pragmatists, George H. Mead, Charles H. Cooley, and W. I. Thomas believe ?The central theme of symbolic interactionism is that human life is lived in the symbolic domain. Symbols are culturally derived social objects having shared meanings that are created and maintained in social interaction. Through language and communication, symbols provide the means by which reality is constructed. Reality is primarily a social product, and all that is humanly consequential?self, mind, society, culture?emerges from and is dependent on symbolic interactions for its existence.?? (encyclopedia.com)
Different World Views As you read this comparison ponder the different opinions and the various topics in this paper. Think why these two people raised in similar circumstances have different opinions. In the 1800s, Negros were stereotyped as to only have one purpose: to mindlessly serve their masters with unquestionable loyalty. Booker T Washington and Fredrick Douglass both grew up in the harsh world that is slavery. Both were slaves for their early lives; however, Washington was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and was able to live out his dream of attending Hampton Institute at the age of 14.
Before any logical argument regarding the contrasting of two works can begin, a foundation must be established that in some way
Throughout my journey I am discovering the epistemological tradition that best fits my own perspective. There are many ways in which a person learns; learning can be defined as a change in behavior due to past experiences. As well, there are different approaches to learning such as; behaviorism, cognitivism, connectivism and constructivism. Many aspects of my life have formed my epistemological assumptions such as family, friends, community, education and my own experiences. Epistemology is defined as the theory of knowledge, with respect to its methods, validity, and scope; it is the inquiry of what discerns acceptable belief from opinion (Bates, 2015, section 2.2.1, para 1). I feel that I connect best with experiential cognitivism since I prefer to experience information before internalizing and relating it with what I know to be true. I will draw upon my past experiences to illustrate my position as I have come to understand myself as an experiential cognitivist, which situates within the epistemology of pragmatism. Pragmatism is defined as a practical approach to problems or matters. As William James states in his book Pragmatism, A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking “He (pragmatism) turns towards concreteness and adequacy, towards facts, towards action, and towards power” (para 12, Lecture II What Pragmatism Means).
Pragmatists, George H. Mead, Charles H. Cooley, and W. I. Thomas believe ?The central theme of symbolic interactionism is that human life is lived in the symbolic domain. Symbols are culturally derived social objects having shared meanings that are created and maintained in social interaction. Through language and communication, symbols provide the means by which reality is constructed. Reality is primarily a social product, and all that is humanly consequential?self, mind, society, culture?emerges from and is dependent on symbolic interactions for its existence.?? (encyclopedia.com)
Selecting from the following topics and readings, create a research essay of 900 to 1,000 words.
Pragmatism is described in the book as a method for settling philosophical disputes. It is based on the pragmatic theory of truth. This theory says that a 'proposition p is true if and only if the belief that 'p is true' works'; (Voices of Wisdom, 346). In order
However these two perspectives have some traits which make one unique from another and these are discussions as below,
My philosophy was quite encouraged by the underlying branches of philosophy that are found in a Pragmatist. I strongly believe that we are here to educate the children, if we are not attending to their needs then we are truly not teaching. Therefore, I bring up the three branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology and axiology according to a pragmatist point of view. The metaphysics believes that the truth is within the child, the individual. The epistemology finds reality within the child's construction of knowledge. The axiology finds value in the child becoming self-actualized; where the child reaches the highest level that they can. It is clearly seen that Pragmatist view goes side by side with my idea of education being all about the child.
Currently, three prominent ideologies dominate the governing style of the world today: socialism, liberalism and conservatism. Many political groups and leaders often follow or claim to follow a specific ideology. On the other side of the spectrum for those who follow one ideology specific, there are some individuals that knowingly or unknowingly that follow none and focus on practicality of ideas. Those individuals are referred to as pragmatist. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, pragmatism is based on the principle that emphasis on the usefulness, workability, and practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals (“Pragmatism”, n.d). Basically, a pragmatist would focus on the actions and/or the consequences rather than the doctrine. Even
George Santayana described Pragmatism this way, “American pragmatism connects the American experimental and inventive attitude with older philosophical ideas” (Stumpf 397).
Throughout history, philosophers have been trying to come up with a clear way to provide the justification of our beliefs and knowledge. Noah Lemos offers readers explanations of both foundationalism and coherentism for theories of justification. These two different theories offer very different ways to explain the basis of our beliefs. For a foundationalist, they believe that all of our beliefs can be broken down until we reach a basic belief. This belief would be largely independent of other beliefs and not derived from other beliefs. A coherentist feels that a belief can be reasonably justified if it is coheres with our other beliefs.
Rationalism and empiricism can be related. The two methods only conflict when covering the same subject. Philosophers can be either a rationalist or empiricist but
The most practical of analytical philosophy also included Moore, and Carnape. The American (neo) pragmatism philosophy is a philosophical movement that was given systematic terms by Charles Sanders Peirce and William James and later taken up and revamped by John Dewey. Pragmatists stress the practical purpose of knowledge as a way for acclimatizing to reality and controlling it. Pragmatism concur with empiricism in its emphasis on the importance of experience over a priori reasoning. However the truth had customarily been discussed in terms of communication with reality or in terms of coherence pragmatism embraces that truth is to be sought in the process of verification. Pragmatists translates ideas as means and plans of action rather than as images of reality; more specifically, they are recommendations and anticipations of possible conduct, hypotheses or forecasts of what will result from a given action, or ways of organizing behavior(Answer,2010)