Pragma what?

William James was born in New York in 1842.

It is possible that some of our loyal and fervent blog readers do not immediately remember who was William James.
He is one of the founders of pragmatism.



William James was a thinker.
A philosopher.
He published a book called “The Principles of Psychology” (1890) that became very important.
It influenced generations of thinkers in Europe and America, including Edmund Husserl, Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.
For his book “The Principles of Psychology” he studied physiology, psychology and philosophy and spent a lot of his time in Europe.

What exactly is pragmatism, the philosophy developed by William James?
It is the doctrine that the meaning of an idea or a proposition lies in its observable practical consequences.
That those practical consequences are the criteria of knowledge and meaning and value.

American philosophers primarily held this way of approaching and handling life.
John Dewey was another American pragmatic philosopher.
Pragmatism formed the cornerstone of the American social and economical system of capitalism.

Pragmatism was and still is of huge influence.
More so because of the introduction of neuro-linguïstic programming, a method for personal change, by Americans Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s.
Made popular by people like Anthony Robbins.
They teach to avoid traditional thinking.
To stop thinking along traditional lines.
And to become able to have original thoughts that are pragmatic.
A good example of pragmatic thinking, from Anthony Robbins, is this:

Could it be possible that what seem like the worst days in our lives are actually the most powerful in terms of the lessons we can choose to learn from them?

If someone is able to have this thought, life and its future is made much more interesting, challenging and attractive.
Pragmatism is an efficient method for dealing with life and not only for a nomadic photographer.
If skilled in applying it, always the good things of what happens can be seen.
From where one can happily and successfully proceed.

Pragmatism is a gift to humanity of much more importance and value than many forms of psychotherapy and certainly psychoanalysis.
But is it the perfect solution?
That depends.
As always, the person who learns to live according to this doctrine is responsible how it is being used.
A danger is that a pragmatist is carried away by its success and turns into an opportunist.
A very likely possibility in materialistic and capitalistic societies.

Recently a message was received from a Chinese person who makes documentaries for national Chinese TV.
He wants to make a film about the upcoming performance in Beijing, China, of the project “The most beautiful people in the world”.
In this project it is all about feeling the most beautiful.
The project “The most beautiful people in the world” deals with the difference between physical, external beauty and the beauty in someone’s heart and soul.
Andrey Zhu, the TV documentary maker from Beijing, China, wrote:

“I think your work is pretty relevant to Chinese people.
We really need a second thought about the word "beauty".
I've looked through your website and am pretty attracted by what Iranian Shafiee Dolatabodi, the 50-year old farmer and housewife had said:" The sound of the river in front of my house is one of the most beautiful things and that makes me feel beautiful also."
With bigger cars, larger cities, heavier pollution, more and more income, nowadays, in China, where is the river in front of OUR house?

This is exactly the difference between pragmatism and opportunism.
Temporary material gains and welfare is opportunism that does not bring much enrichment in the heart and the soul and has devastating consequences for the environment.

Pragmatism is being able to see and feel the beauty of life, as the woman in Iran is able to do.
And to proceed from there.

William James died in 1920 but if you want, he is still very much alive.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

To learn more about William James, click on:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/james/

To learn more about neuro-linguïstic programming and Anthony Robbins, click on:
http://www.tonyrobbins.com/Home/Home.aspx

To learn more about the project "The most beautiful people in the world", click on:
http://www.themostbeautifulpeople.org









.