Thomas Pierce's Pragmatic Criterion - Essay Example

?Thomas Pierce's Pragmatic Criterion In daily human life, there has to be ways to linking practical and theoretical aspects of everything they do or encounter and this forms what is called pragmatism. In pragmatism, theory is obtained from practice and the extracted theory is applied back to practice to form intelligence practice. There is also a need for a means of resolving truths whenever declarations are made, worth in the case of assessments and correctness in the case of actions. Thomas Pierce is one person who deserves to be credited for pragmatism. In his essay, “How to make our ideas clear,” Pierce brings out one of the earliest but the best formulations of the pragmatic criterion. Pierce’s view in this essay is that for us to arrive at the correct and clear apprehension of an object, we must “consider what effects, which might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object.” Significance of Pierce's Pragmatic Criterion Pragmatism is based on the premise that for intelligence practice to be possible, it is important that human beings have the capability to theorize. Pierce’s pragmatic criterion is significant in that it enables the two spheres of theory and practice to be integrated together into a functional unit and thus form the basis of intelligence practice. In this way, it enables people to have a clear and distinct conception about something. It also enables them to differentiate between clear and unclear/obscure, and between distinct and confused conceptions (Haack 36). Pierce’s pragmatic criterion eliminates the chances of forming conception about an object out of haste conclusions or personal perception. This is because it calls for a thorough analysis of the object in terms of its practical effects for example, if one was to state that something is soft or hard. The person will have to consider many effects of the hard or soft object on other objects and effects of other objects on this particular object. For example, the hard object can scratch other objects but it is not easily scratched by others and a good example is a stone. On the other hand, a soft object can easily be scratched by other objects but itself, it may not be able to scratch other objects. An example of this is a mattress. The practical effects/consequences in this case refers to results from experimental practice. In Pierce’s pragmatic criterion, only the sum of the consequences posed by the object constitutes its whole meaning of the conception and not any external feeling or perceptions (Pierce 290). It is therefore reasonable to conclude that Pierce’s pragmatic criterion is a criterion of truth. That is, a means through which we can judge the accuracy and validity of claims and statements about various objects. This is important given that various people can make different claims about a single object. From the above, it is clear that Pierce’s pragmatic criterion provides evidence of certainty and intellectual conception that is important for intelligence practice. Without this evidence of certainty or results from experimental practice, it would be difficult to distinguish some objects. For example without scratching a hard and soft object, it is very difficult to tell which one among them is soft and which one among them is hard. By the outlook, a diamond crystallized in the midst of a soft cotton cushion may seem softer than a mattress. However, this is not the reality of a diamond and a mattress (Pierce 291). Bringing the two objects to test is therefore the surest way of developing the correct conception of the two objects. Reflection is important in philosophy and Pierce’s pragmatic criterion provides an important means of reflection. The ultimate end of this is that it makes ideas clear. This is achieved through a good study of logic instead of putting them aside or eliminating them with haste answers. Haack and Lane (45) explain that in Pierce’s pragmatic criterion, each of the logic is considered with attentive care in order to identify the principles involved. In order to arrive at this, the person or people analyzing the object of perception can modify their questions for example, what prevents them from stating that all hard objects remain perfectly soft until they are intentionally touched. It also helps to make clear and consider the effects of other factors like pressure and scratching on the hardness of the object. From the above results, Pierce’s pragmatic criterion becomes a means through which we can rectify our speeches or modify the use of various terms in various circumstances. However, their meanings remain the same. Hartshorne and Weiss (121) state that when writers place more emphasis on words than things, Pierce’s pragmatic criterion provides a means of understanding various terms. This is because the criterion places an emphasis on the effects of an object of perception and not just effects but on those effects that have practical bearing or consequences. The important task in pragmatism is to obtain clearness of apprehension or conception. If a person was to understand their object of conception from Pierce’s point of view, the person will be able to identify features about the object that will be recognized wherever the object will be met and no other object will be mistaken for it. It this way, the person will have obtained a clear conception about the object. It should also be noted that intelligence practice is only possible where everything is clear and there are no unclear meanings. Pierce’s pragmatic criterion enables one to have a distinct conception about an object of their conception. Through Pierce’ pragmatic criterion, we can be able to identify all the contents of the object and hence come up with a clear or precise definition of object. This means that Pierce’s pragmatic criterion ensures that an object of conception has nothing that is unclear (Hartshorne and Weiss 96). It also means that Pierce’s pragmatic criterion provides a good means of avoiding the use of generals in understanding an object. The generals may be real and even physically efficient but they can also be false and physically inefficient. According to Pierce, the function of self-consciousness was to furnish people with their fundamental truths and decide on what was commonly acceptable or agreeable to reason. Since it is evident that not all ideas are not true, Pierce pointed put that the ideas must be clear. Pierce’s pragmatic criterion is important in eliminating disagreements among people in terms of their conception of an object. In the process of investigating an object, a community or a person will arrive at a series of opinions. In the case of quantitative induction, the object of these opinions would be the population’s or the person’s composition value. By following the ideas of Pierce in his pragmatic criterion, the community or person is able to arrive at a final opinion. This final opinion represents a series of ratios or opinions that have converged together to a certain limit. It is fated to be what has been ultimately agreed to. When Pierce’s pragmatic criterion is applied in various fields of knowledge, the opinions of those people who and possess an advanced degree, or are highly trained and those that have a good experience are considered a proof of all claims brought forth in the specific area. Their familiarity and knowledge within the given area of knowledge or field allows their statements to be used as criteria of truth and enables them to command respect in the field or area of knowledge. This is to say that the basis of Pierce’s pragmatic criterion is expert testimony and this in itself is a solution in a situation where multiple authorities may differ in their claims and conclusions over the same thing. Where coherence is achieved among the various authorities, their statements or claims will hold the highest authority and become the highest test of truth. Relationship between Pierce’s pragmatic criterion and final opinion According to Peirce's definition of truth, the final opinion must be the truth or reality we are seeking for (Pierce 298). We can therefore conclude that there exists a relationship between Pierce pragmatic criterion and final opinion. The pragmatic criterion provides the process by which quantitative induction can take place so that the final opinion about an object, which is agreed to by all, is finally obtained. In both cases, reality about an object of conception is explained by the final opinions that are developed by inductive reasoners after conducting a sufficient investigation. Conclusion In the modern world, the ability to resolving truths whenever declarations are made, worth in the case of assessments and correctness in the case of actions is important. This is because various people and authorities are working tirelessly to come up with claims or statements than can hold authority in their various fields or areas of knowledge. Thomas Pierce's Pragmatic Criterion provides a better method for test of truth that can be used to measure the validity of such claims of statements. The criterion emphasizes on the effects of an object of perception that have practical implications. Only the practical effects/ results from experimental practice are used as evidence of certainty and intellectual conception which in turn form basis for intelligence practice. Works Cited Haack Susan. Lane Robert. Pragmatism, old and new: selected writings. Prometheus Books. (2006). pp.  Hartshorne Charles and Weiss Paul. Peirce, C.S. Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Volumes 1–6. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. 1958. Peirce Charles. “How to Make Our Ideas Clear”, Popular Science Monthly. (1) 286–302. 1878. Read More