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The Pragmatic Maxim and Four Classical Pragmatists



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Liang Meng

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2017.09.006

This essay explores the issue of what makes a pragmatist. It centers on the pragmatic maxim of Charles Sanders Peirce. Although Peirce deliberately coined the word “Pragmaticism” to express his disapproval of James’s pragmatism, his pragmatic maxim has become the touchstone of a pragmatist, so much so that, to be a pragmatist, one must endorse the pragmatic maxim, notwithstanding the fact that the pragmatic maxim is open to various interpretations, as shown in the four classical pragmatists, Peirce, James, Dewey, and Mead. Their different interpretations of the pragmatic maxim are examined successively so as to offer a panoramic view of the pragmatic maxim and its significant role in constituting a pragmatist.

Peirce, the pragmatic maxim, pragmatist, James, Dewey, Mead