pragmatisme

Forms

pragmatisme m (plural pragmatismes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Pragmatismus, a German philosophical term used together with pragmatisch, especially of the method of “pragmatic history” (Schelling, 1803).^[2][3] In its modern sense it was borrowed again, borrowed from English pragmatism, the name William James gave in 1898 to his philosophy and that of C. S. Peirce, the English word being itself from the German one.^[2][3][4][5] The German word goes back to Ancient Greek πραγματικός (pragmatikós, “concerned with action, with affairs”), which Polybius used of a history of facts, from πρᾶγμα (prâgma, “deed, affair”).^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Émile Boutroux uses it in 1877, in his introduction to the French translation of Zeller's Philosophie des Grecs.^[2][3] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF date it 1878 instead.^[7][8][6]

Semantic evolution

The German model named a kind of historical positivism, current from the late 18th century.^[4] French took the word anew from English for the doctrine of William James and Peirce, which holds that an idea is true by its effect on reality; the Nouveau Larousse illustré records this in 1907.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date the philosophical term to the beginning of the 20th century.^[4] From 1928 it is also used of a political attitude founded on realism,^[2] and more generally of a person's preference for what works in practice.^[9]

Timeline

• 1877 – Émile Boutroux uses the German philosophers' term.^[2][3]
• 1898 – William James names his philosophy pragmatism in English.^[2][4]
• 1907 – The Nouveau Larousse illustré records le pragmatisme de Peirce et W. James.^[2]
• 1928 – Used of a political attitude founded on realism.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (philosophy) pragmatism, the doctrine of William James, Peirce and others that the truth of an idea lies in its practical consequences and effectiveness.^[8][2][5]
2. (philosophy) More generally, any doctrine that takes practical value as the test of truth.^[8]
3. (by extension) An attitude, in politics or in conduct, that puts facts and results before theory: elle a abordé la crise avec pragmatisme.^[2][9]

Related words

• pragmatique
• pragmatiste
• German Pragmatismus
• English pragmatism

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org