Wednesday, 30 April 2025

Like judges in common law, we work within evolving rules we didn’t invent, but help reinterpret."PRAGMATISM

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Here’s a concise set of summary bullet quotes capturing the key ideas of the article “To resist dogma and accept uncertainty, think like a pragmatist” by Michael Bacon:


🧠 Core Concepts of Pragmatism

  • "Pragmatism replaces the search for timeless truths with imaginative ways of coping with the world."

  • "We do not represent reality; we participate in shaping it through our responses to experience."

  • "Pragmatists start with the beliefs we already hold – not with radical doubt – and revise them as needed."

Knowledge, Belief, and Truth

  • "You can’t step outside your beliefs to examine them – because you are your beliefs."

  • "Truth is not a destination but a process: a belief that endures fruitful enquiry without defeat."

  • "‘Justified, but maybe not true’ – truth is fallible, and inquiry must remain open-ended."

🔄 Reason, Responsibility, and Dialogue

  • "Humans play the unique game of giving and asking for reasons – and are held accountable within it."

  • "Responsibility is social: we justify beliefs not in isolation, but before others who evaluate them."

  • "Like judges in common law, we work within evolving rules we didn’t invent, but help reinterpret."

🗳️ Pragmatism and Democracy

  • "Democracy works, when it does, because it mirrors enquiry: inclusive, accountable, and ongoing."

  • "Philosophy must confront material inequalities – or risk excluding voices from the conversation."

  • "The best democracies enable all to thrive; the worst entrench exclusion and silence."

🌍 Reality, Uncertainty, and Human Limits

  • "There’s no view from nowhere – only better or worse ways to navigate what confronts us."

  • "Pragmatism offers no guarantees, only tools for coping creatively with an unpredictable world."

  • "Its gift – and burden – is the call to resist dogma and accept uncertainty as the price of freedom."


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