🏛 Western Thought

Pragmatism — Practice

"Truth is verified by what works"

윌리엄 제임스 (William James, 1842~1910) · 존 듀이 (John Dewey, 1859~1952) · 19세기 말~20세기 초

📜 Origin

In late-19th-century America still shaping its identity, Harvard-trained William James asked — what is truth? Not Kantian universal form, not Hegelian Absolute Spirit. His answer: truth is verified by "how a belief works in our lives." "If a thought works, it is true to that extent." Dewey carried this into schools — "learning is doing."

💡 Meaning

Pragmatism is the essence of American thought. While Europe asked "is this truth?" America asked "does this work?" Result-centered, result-verified, result-revised. This thought shaped America's industry, science, education. Truth is not a destination but a tool.

🌏 Eastern Classic Cross-link

Wang Yangming: "Knowing is the beginning of doing; doing is the completion of knowing." Yangming Studies (500 years ago) and Pragmatism (100 years ago) reached the same conclusion. East-West's most practical convergence — not desk truth but hand truth.

用

Compressed into One Hanja

"用" depicts a bell on a pole — a military instrument. 用 means "to be used," and what is not used has no meaning. Pragmatism's core insight sits in this character — unused truth is not truth but ornament.