Practice, pragmatically…

by Richard Reeve on November 6, 2008

in AziMuth

Book cover of

AziMuth

“Grant an idea or belief to be true, what concrete difference will it’s being true make in any one’s actual life?” asks William James for a second time in essay The Meaning of Truth: a Sequel to ‘Pragmatism.’ And it is this rub of idea against reality which makes the insistence on practice so inviting.

Consider that Lawyers and Doctors have practices.  Consider the word not as the child struggling to learn a musical instrument, but as a word that you wear into every action.  In doing: a practitioner.  In as much as your practice evolves, a pragmatist.

C. S. Peirce, the other granddaddy of pragmatism (he coined the word), found that belief fueled action.  In fact, he clarifies that without certainty, action cannot proceed. So what emerges is the three fold nature of our engagement: thought, belief, action. Do you clarify dissonance in your practice?  Do you make use of the rush of energy that emerges from certainty?

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  • Thanks for your thought provoking post. Got me thinking that not all "certainty" is created equal. Seems to me what we are really after is what I would call conscious certainty or mindfulness to borrow a term from Ellen Langer. For that you have to have a big tolerance for uncertainty or you end up acting on "truths" that you never really examined (the low hanging fruits of our pre-programmed thinking so to speak). In working with organizations on changing their thinking and behavior for 20+ years it is my experience that many people would rather get to unconscious certainty fast than do the hard work of really opening their minds to all that is around them. You may want to check out Ellen Langer's book called Mindfulness. (P.S. I am really enjoying your site!)
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