Position

Pragmatist Theory of Truth

A belief is true if it works — if it is what inquiry would ultimately settle on and reliably guides successful action.

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Classification

Position level
specific
Domains
Epistemology

Overview

The pragmatist redirects the question from what truth mirrors to what truth does. Peirce anchored it in the long-run consensus of a self-correcting community of inquirers; James, more individualist, tied it to a belief's usefulness in leading us through experience. The theory is one position among several that pragmatist philosophers hold, not the whole of Pragmatism, which also carries distinctive views of inquiry, meaning, and experience.

Position on

  • The Nature of Truth

    On what truth is: truth is cashed out in practice — for Peirce, the opinion inquiry is fated to converge on; for James, the belief that proves useful and 'expedient' in leading us through experience.

Held by traditions

  • Pragmatism

    James extended the pragmatic maxim into a theory of truth; it is one of the school's problem-specific positions, not the whole of Pragmatism.

    Question scope: The Nature of Truth

Incompatible positions

References