tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post2645200386042893139..comments2024-02-21T14:18:09.212-08:00Comments on R World: Just the Way Things AreRon Davisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972794876337195698noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-17106691834151656152010-10-09T20:34:45.607-07:002010-10-09T20:34:45.607-07:00Jen, Thomas & LH, I'm actually a fan of pr...Jen, Thomas & LH, I'm actually a fan of pragmatism. I think it was a big improvement over the Enlightenment thinking before it. I guess I was simply trying to make the point that pragmatism - like any of the philosophies - can become the way things are rather than the way we see things. Prescription lenses are a wonderful thing - as long as you can take them off when you need to read or sleep or ... Same way with worldviews. (Which I guess, come to think of it, is sort of pragmatic, thinking that pragmatism ought to be adopted only when it works and discarded when it doesn't.) Oh, and Jen? I think William James was a genius.Ron Davisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11972794876337195698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-31200345827522221302010-10-05T13:45:14.524-07:002010-10-05T13:45:14.524-07:00Neat post, Ron. So, do you read William James? It ...Neat post, Ron. So, do you read William James? It sounds to me like you don't like the philosophy of pragmatism. Correct?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-12575700426587164032010-09-13T05:17:06.460-07:002010-09-13T05:17:06.460-07:00My fast research indicates that "pragmatism&q...My fast research indicates that "pragmatism" is clearly a philosophy, although many people may not be aware of this fact. This philosophy says something like "the true meaning of an idea can only be known by the physical outcomes of putting it into action".<br /><br />I like the general idea of pragmatism, but I'd add that assessing those "physical outcomes" requires deciding which outcomes are more favorable than others - and that's the rub.<br /><br />For example, some Florida preacher might decide that the practical consequence of burning Quran's would be to start a worldwide war between Christians and Muslims - and that's a favorable outcome, for him. For me, it's a real loser. Yet we may both claim to be "pragmatists". Huh?Lifehikerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00087215544010279426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-4681823739744092182010-09-13T04:58:26.272-07:002010-09-13T04:58:26.272-07:00"Pragmatism" in politics just means givi..."Pragmatism" in politics just means giving up in the first quarter so nobody has to get sweaty and dirty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com