MDSA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Richard Rorty, John Dewey, Radical Empiricism
Lecture 4
Pragmatic Analysis
- Practicality
- Legislation
- Regulation
Orienting Questions
• Should media be regulated? If so, how?
• What are the consequences and contingencies involved in regulation?
• What is the most practical resolution to a problem?
Primary Question for all Pragmatic Analysis:
WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT?
Pragmatism: Pragmatism is a branch of philosophy that assesses truth in terms if effect, outcome, and
practicality. Unlike earlier metaphysical philosophers, who viewed truth as a transcendental constant waiting
to be discovered, Pragmatists claim that truth depends on the degree to which a concept or theory provides
us ith useful results i the proess of solig proles Ott ad Mak 8.
Contra Metaphysics
Metaphysics:
Study of being and existence (ontology) and the word (cosmology)
What is the meaning of life? What does it mean to be?
Principles of Metaphysics
• Truth is transcendent, constant, universal
• Truth us out there aitig to e disoered
• Truth can never be fully known
• Longstanding debates:
o Mind/body
o Free will/determinism
Interesting questions but these are NOT pragmatic questions
Pragmatism
• Practicality
o What orks? What does’t ork? Wh?
o What improvements can be made?
The hole futio of philosoph ought to e fid out what definite difference it will make to you and me at
definite instants of our life, if this orld forula or that orld forula e the true oe. - William James
(1842-1910)
Capital- T Truth
Truth can be debated forever (metaphysics)
truth is local, contingent, contextual, historical and therefore we need to:
• Problem solve
• Assess outcomes/effect
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Measure and produce tangible results and benefits
• Examine and rationalize consequences
BE PRAGMATIC!
3 KEY PRAGMATISTS:
1. William James
2. John Dewey
3. Richard Rorty
1. William James ( 1842-1910)
• Idiidual ad Hait
o Hait = a patha of disharge fored i the rai, hih ertai ioig urrets eer
after ted to esape Ott ad Mak 8
o Note: Alcoholics Anonymous
• Radical empiricism
- the ol thigs that shall be debatable among philosophers shall be things definable in terms drawn
from experience.
2. John Dewy (1859 – 1952)
• Focus on society and larger social issues
• Educational reformer: against rote memorization
o Problem solving skills
o Productive and responsible citizens
• Pragmatic Meliorism – through dedication to developing world solutions
3. Richard Porty (1931 – 2007)
• Relativism – the elief that dierse approahes ad theories related to a given subject are all equally
orret
o Rejection of capital –T Truth
o Restricted relativism
▪ Social situation and placement in history
• Ironism – a commitment to seeing the world in terms of contingent historical conditions
Media Regulation: A pragmatic paradigm
• Consequences – effects of regulations
• Contingencies – factors at play during the creation of a regulation
• Tensions:
o Puli of iterest s Free arket
o Government or (business) regulation vs media self-regulation
Example: Regulating media content
• Native advertising – sponsoring of presumably journalistic articles written in ways that are favourable
to the company that sponsored it
o Baer Blidess – not so good for advertisement revenue
o Blends in with actual news or editorial (camouflage)
What should we do about it?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Pragmatism: (cid:862)pragmatism is a branch of philosophy that assesses truth in terms if effect, outcome, and practicality. Study of being and existence (ontology) and the word (cosmology) Principles of metaphysics: truth is transcendent, constant, universal, truth us (cid:862)out there(cid:863) (cid:449)aiti(cid:374)g to (cid:271)e dis(cid:272)o(cid:448)ered, truth can never be fully known, longstanding debates, mind/body, free will/determinism. Interesting questions but these are not pragmatic questions. Truth can be debated forever (metaphysics) truth is local, contingent, contextual, historical and therefore we need to: problem solve, assess outcomes/effect, measure and produce tangible results and benefits, examine and rationalize consequences. 3 key pragmatists: william james, john dewey, richard rorty, william james ( 1842-1910) Ironism a commitment to seeing the world in terms of contingent historical conditions. Media regulation: a pragmatic paradigm: consequences effects of regulations, contingencies factors at play during the creation of a regulation, tensions, (cid:862)pu(cid:271)li(cid:272) of i(cid:374)terest(cid:863) (cid:448)s (cid:862)free (cid:373)arket(cid:863, government or (business) regulation vs media self-regulation.
