A pragmatic person is one who relies in his life on actions and actions that bring specific useful results. The basis of pragmatic thinking was successfully described by W. James. The American psychologist argued that only what is best for us to believe is true. Pragmatists tend to base all their judgments on the basis of their practical experience.
Pragmatist
Who is a pragmatist?
The meaning of the word pragmatism comes from the Greek “pragmatos” (πράγματος). It denotes an action or something. Philosophical teaching (trend) is based on practice as a real truth that carries semantic meaning.
Important! A pragmatist is a materialist who seeks his own benefit in everything. For such people, “bird in hand” is more important than “pie in the sky.” Making vital decisions and setting goals for such a person are carried out only for their own benefit and are based solely on practical “usefulness” or “uselessness”.
A pragmatist's approach to life
What traits do such people have?
The expression “pragmatic personality” applies to people with a practical mindset. Answering the question of what kind of person is pragmatic, we can note the following qualities of an individual:
- searching for a profitable solution when setting goals and defining tasks to achieve them;
- the efforts and time spent must not only pay off, but also bring profit;
- the ability to identify specific life directions (one or several) and move along them without being distracted by emotions, opinions of other people and other “lyrics”.
Moral reward for efforts spent can also be included in this list.
Attention! A pragmatist can take care of loved ones, parents and relatives, but he will always count on an inheritance and reciprocal material or moral support.
An example of an interpersonal relationship between two pragmatic people can be considered a marriage contract. A pragmatic person attaches less importance to feelings than to his practical considerations. This does not mean that he is not capable of love and friendship.
Love and marriage contract
Hence! Pragmatic traits are useful character traits that are worth instilling and developing.
Public opinion varies depending on the situation and government system. Man, as a rational being, is obliged to have strong views on life, independent of the assessment of the people around him.
A Practical View of Success
Misanthrope - what does it mean, who is he?
The portrait of a pragmatic personality presented above indicates that such an attitude towards things, business and people helps to achieve success. There are rules by following which you can learn to benefit from life:
- Before starting an activity, clearly formulate its purpose. Having seen a problem, a person understands how to solve it. At the same time, each problem should be considered not as an obstacle to achieving a goal, but as an opportunity to develop new skills and gain invaluable experience.
- After completing the case, you need to analyze the work process. If a person is able to find and admit his own mistakes, then he, in fact, is drawing up a personal growth plan based on eliminating mistakes.
- Give priority to solving your own problems. Only after you have achieved your own goal can you help others realize their goals. At the same time, you need to learn to refuse a request that you do not want to fulfill. This will avoid stress.
- Live for today. Thoughts about problems and difficulties that may or may not happen take up a lot of mental energy. However, circumstances in life change rapidly, so there is no point in thinking about the distant future with fear. It is better to spend your energy solving today's problems and planning for tomorrow.
- Train yourself to save. Refusal of an unplanned purchase will allow you to save money for the purchase of something more significant and necessary. It is better to put the saved money not in a piggy bank, but in a savings account in a bank with interest. In addition, if a person learns to manage his finances, keep a diary of income and expenses, he will be able to plan his budget.
Diary of income and expenses
- Lead a healthy lifestyle, take care of your health. A person who does not have physical health problems is distinguished by a sound mind and the ability to make competent decisions. In addition, taking care of your health and preventing illness will save money that is often spent on medications.
- Engage in self-development. At the same time, you need to come to terms with the fact that it is impossible to embrace the immensity. For self-development, it is better to choose an area in which you really have an interest. If you spend time reading boring books, watching strange films and communicating with losers, then there will be no time left for the important, necessary, interesting.
What is pragmatism?
In answering this question, we can consider types of pragmatism. It is distinguished in three areas:
- philosophy;
- religion;
- psychology.
Melancholic - what kind of person, type of temperament?
The philosophical concept of pragmatism was introduced by the American philosopher Charles Peirce at the end of the 19th century. He expressed it in the “maxim” of pragmatism: “in the path of achieving understanding and clarity, one should be guided in one’s thinking only by practical principles.”
Important! This concept is set in contrast to idealistic movements, which, according to Peirce, do not correspond to reality.
Principles of pragmatism
In the field of religion, the pragmatic foundations are laid on the path of reunification with God, through prayer, fasting, various restrictions and other techniques.
Psychologists note the practical steps of a pragmatic person towards the intended goal. Experts distinguish between two pragmatic approaches: useful and useless. They note that a pronounced pragmatic character is not always useful for society, as it can cause discord in traditional ways of life. A very fine psychological line runs in the area of interpersonal relationships. They can collapse when the saying “Friendship is friendship, and service is service” is replaced by the expression “Nothing personal, just business!”
By the way! The fact that only the male part of the population is prone to pragmatism is just a stereotype. A pragmatic woman is a modern businesswoman who achieves her goals in life no worse than a man.
History of pragmatism: from philosophy to everyday life
This philosophical movement originated in America, which is not surprising: Americans are a practical nation that Hegel’s objective idealism and other components of the philosophical “classics” could not satisfy.
However, to do without basic teaching entirely, as the French say, is “not comme il faut.” This is how pragmatism emerged. Its founder is considered to be Charles Peirce, who outlined the main ideas of “ down-to-earth philosophy ” in his works.
Peirce's ideas were developed by William James and John Dewey. The latter proposed considering experience as the main philosophical concept. In general, this science was given the role of a tool for improving the social and cultural life of people. Therefore, the second name of Dewey's concept is instrumentalism.
Richard Rorty went even further from classical philosophy, proposing to completely abandon universal ideas and methods - and it’s not far from abstraction! There are specific situations, and you need to focus on them (on the context, in other words). This doctrine came to be called contextualism.
Over time, the concept of “pragmatism” migrated into everyday life. Now it is used not only by philosophers, but by pragmatists in the modern sense - these are not necessarily supporters of the teachings of Charles Peirce. They may not even be aware of its existence.
Type of thinking in men and women
What is a person's Nordic character like?
In the modern world, a distinction is made between male and female thinking, describing them as follows:
- masculine – digital, based on the logic of common sense;
- feminine – analog, based on inner intuition.
The male thought process is carried out in logical chains and occurs in complete silence.
Women's reflections are voiced in the process and at the same time experienced emotionally. Often the result comes in the form of an insight (an intuitive answer) during the process of “thinking out loud.” Pragmatic women have a masculine mentality; they will think a hundred times before speaking once.
Pragmatic realist
How to develop pragmatism
Homophobe - who is he, definition
Rationality is a good personality trait, so psychologists recommend developing it. This can be done with:
- Bringing to completion any work started;
- Keeping a diary with a list of to-dos for the day;
- Highlighting small stages in the process of achieving the goal;
- Development of voluntary attention;
- Train yourself to have a calm and cool attitude towards life's difficulties.
Pragmatism is characteristic of all successful people. This trait helps to achieve goals, use resources rationally, and avoid stress. The life of a modern person whose pragmatism is poorly developed will bring him disappointment and depression. There are also negative traits in the character of pragmatists, but with the help of willpower their manifestation can be controlled.
Successful pragmatist
What's wrong with a pragmatic approach to relationships?
Kinesthetic - what kind of person is this?
There is an opinion that a pragmatic character is characterized by such bad qualities as:
- cynicism - because they first evaluate the benefits of an action and then act;
- egoism - trying to solve a practical task set for themselves and benefit from it, pragmatic people do not take into account the opinions of others;
- distrust – following logic and practical experience, such people do not pay attention to the emotional appeals of others, but trust only facts.
If we put aside emotions and look at the personal qualities of a pragmatic person, then these are practical people, realistically looking at things, purposeful and reasonable. They know their capabilities, set accessible goals and move towards them with maximum concentration, methodically and disciplined.
Pragmatist and relationships with others
When communicating with others, a pragmatic person makes a pleasant impression. He is open to communication, likes to joke, does not argue, and easily finds contact with any people. In conversation he often uses examples from life and stereotypical phrases. The tone of statements is often enthusiastic and enthusiastic, which sometimes gives the impression of hypocrisy and insincerity.
Often offers simple ideas, briefly explaining them with examples from personal practice. He does not shy away from exchanging opinions and organizes collective discussions of important issues. Considers serious debates boring. He prefers real, practically implementable proposals to theoretical and philosophical long-term reasoning. Being in a tense state gives the impression of a bored person who is not interested in the issues being discussed.
Most successful politicians and businessmen, artists and singers, managers and producers achieved their positions in the profession thanks to the use of sober calculation. They do not tend to stray from the intended path, being distracted by sentimental thoughts and wasting energy on emotional actions. In life they are guided only by cold calculation.
Pragmatism and commercialism
For a pragmatic person, this is what approach to business should be so that others do not consider him mercantile. Commercialism is the achievement of material (monetary) benefits from any relationship (business or personal), using other people or relationships with them for this.
Pragmatism is movement towards a goal, relying on one’s own strengths and experience, without detriment to others. Since not everything in the world is measured by money, pragmatists are capable of normal relationships.
However! If a pragmatist understands that the person whom he should and can support will not respond kindly to him in the future or is completely devoid of feelings of gratitude, then he can easily abandon any attempts to help him.
Pros and cons of pragmatism
Healthy pragmatism is a personal quality that is natural to a person.
It developed historically, first in the struggle against natural factors for survival, and later in numerous vicissitudes associated with the distribution of social, power and other roles in society.
Our prehistoric ancestors, preparing to hunt large animals (elephants, bison, mammoths), tracked the herd in advance, prepared a trap, and sometimes chose a wounded animal or an animal that had strayed from the “collective” as a victim. It was a strategic plan built by primitive pragmatists, the strict adherence to which depended on who they would become today: successful hunters or prey.
Modern “mammoth hunting” does not imply such an unconditional alternative, but healthy pragmatism helps to focus on the main thing, set priorities correctly and achieve what you want.
Pragmatism encourages a person to complete what he started, improve, and be responsible for decisions made. In a number of moments it borders on professionalism.
In Russia, the attitude towards pragmatism is ambiguous, since it contradicts historically established collectivism. After all, the foundation here is individuality (individual choice, responsibility, success).
The persistent pursuit of a goal is sometimes considered bad manners even today, although there has been a shift in the opposite direction - a sharp surge of interest in the ideas of pragmatism at the level of the cult of a successful person , sweeping away everything that is “except” along the way. Somewhat in the American style, but what can you do, this is where this teaching came from.
Pragmatists are accused of coldness, callousness, and excessive prudence - and sometimes this is not without reason. They are demanding not only of themselves, but also of those around them, and are not prone to sentimentality, spontaneity and unjustified (from their point of view) risks.
Healthy pragmatism does not exclude the presence of elements of romance in life: these concepts should not become antonyms (what is that?), their task is to complement each other.
How to become a pragmatist in a good way
When it is clear who pragmatists are, and a person wants to instill these traits in himself and cultivate them, what to do? Having figured out what it means to be a pragmatist, a person can work on himself, developing the following character traits:
- planning – setting tasks and goals, immediate and long-term;
- detailed elaboration - thinking through the details necessary to complete them;
- determination of approximate deadlines and their strict implementation.
Attention! Before you think about long-term plans, you need to make a list of absolutely everything you want. From this list, select those that can be implemented in the near future and those that will take years to implement.
For example, this is how a girl can tell her friends about this: “Before I became a pragmatist, I made a simple wish list, where I indicated that I wanted to get an education, get married, where I would live and how many children I wanted to have in marriage.”
Every person can cultivate a pragmatist and turn this quality into a useful form. The main thing is to remember that only a daily step towards your goal will help you reach it. If things have moved even a millimeter, then getting the final result is only a matter of time.
Public opinion
It is not uncommon to hear negative comments about successful people.
The following traits of pragmatists cause indignation:
- Cynicism. The belief that everything has a price in monetary terms and that you can do anything to achieve positive results causes rejection. As a result, others consider them immoral.
- Lack of authorities. For pragmatists who seek profit in everything, only their own interests are important. They can listen to other people's opinions, but will only take them into account if it suits their interests. In other cases, they will not rely on other people’s words, authority and actions.
- Selfishness. All efforts are made only to achieve the set goal. On the way to her, he will not be stopped by other people's emotions and losses. They are not interested in the interests of others, since the main thing in life is the result at any cost.
It is these qualities that cause a negative attitude that are necessary for the implementation of the plan. These people do not stop in front of obstacles; difficulties only strengthen their character. All this allows you to finish the job you started.
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What is PRAGMATISM - definition, meaning in simple words, briefly.
In simple words, Pragmatism is a point of view that aims to consider the practical consequences and real effects of certain actions. In other words, we can say that pragmatism is a certain worldview, the essence of which is to evaluate things, ideas or actions only from the point of view of their practicality and expediency.
