Abstract
In this article, I argue that pragmatism has something to gain from returning once more to the question of truth, and acknowledging the truth of the existence of Being and its elements. The practical relevance of this insight is shown by my proposition for a practical hermeneutic social scientific method which logically follows from the truth of Being. The method is compatible with the inevitability of subjective judgments in any kind of scientific research, as well as with many pragmatist insights. It is my hope that pragmatists will be willing to follow their own adagium and conceive of this confrontation with difference as an opportunity to re-assess their views.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alvesson M., Sköldberg K. (2000). Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. London, Sage
Archer M. (1996). Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory, Revised edition. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Baert P. (2003). Pragmatism, Realism and Hermeneutics. Foundations of Science 8: 89–106
Baert P. (2004): Pragmatism as a Philosophy of the Social Sciences. European Journal of Social Theory 7(3): 355–370
Baert P. (2005). Philosophy of the Social Sciences: Towards Pragmatism. Polity Press, Cambridge
Baert P., Turner B.S. (2004): New Pragmatism and Old Europe: Introduction to the Debate between Pragmatist Philosophy and European Social and Political Theory. European Journal of Social Theory 7(3): 267–274
Barley S.R., Tolbert P.S. (1997): Institutionalization and Structuration: Studying the Links between Action and Institution. Organization Studies 18(1): 93–117
Bauman Z. (1978). Hermeneutics and Social Science. New York, Columbia University Press
Berger P.L., Luckmann T. (1966) The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City NY, Doubleday
Bernstein R.J. (1983). Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science, Hermeneutics and Praxis. Oxford, Basil Blackwell
Betti E. (1955). Teoria generale della interpretazione. Milan, Dott. A. Giuffre.
Bourdieu P., Wacquant L.J.D. (1992). An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press
Bruns G.L. (1992). Hermeneutics: Ancient and Modern. New Haven, Yale University Press
Caldwell B. (1984). Beyond Positivism: Economic Methodology in the Twentieth Century. London, George Allen & Unwin
Cialdini R.B. (1993). Influence: Science and Practice, 3rd edition. New York, HarperCollins
Descartes, R.: [1637] 1976, Discours de la Méthode: Texte et Commentaire par Étienne Gilson (Cinquième Édition). Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin.
Dewey J. (1938). Logic: The Theory of Inquiry. New York, Henry Holt and Company
Dow, S.: 1994, Whither Mainstream Economics? Stirling Discussion Papers in Economics 95/1, Department of Economics, University of Stirling.
Egginton W., Sandbothe M. (eds) (2004). The Pragmatic Turn in Contemporary Engagements Between Analytic and Continental Thought. New York, State University of New York Press
Feyerabend P. (1988). Against Method, Revised edition. London, Verso
Foucault M. (1994). Dits et écrits, 1954–1988. Paris, Gallimard
Gadamer, H.-G.: [1959] 1975, Truth and Method. London, Sheed and Ward
Geertz C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. New York, Basic Books
Gerhardt U. (1986a). Patientenkarrieren: Eine medizinsoziologische Studie. Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp
Gerhardt, U.: 1986b, Verstehende Strukturanalyse: Die Konstruktion von als Analyseschritt bei der Auswertung qualitativer Forschungsmaterialen. In H.-G. Soeffner (ed.), Sozialstruktur und soziale Typik. Frankfurt (Main): Campus Verlag, 31–83.
Giddens A. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration. Cambridge, Polity Press
Glaser B.G., Strauss A.L., (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: for Qualitative Research. Chicago, Aldine Publishing Company
Heidegger, M.: [1927] 1977, Gesamtausgabe, I. Abteilung: veröffentliche 1914–1970, Band 2, “Sein und Zeit”. Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann.
Hekman S.J. (1986). Hermeneutics and the Sociology of Knowledge. Cambridge, Polity Press
Hughes E.C. (1971). The Sociological Eye: Selected Papers. Chicago, Aldine-Atherton
Hume, D.: [1777] 1977, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding/A Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend in Edinburgh (Eric Steinberg, ed.). Indianapolis: Hackett.
Humphreys C. (1955). Buddhism, Revised edition. Harmondsworth, Penguin
Husserl, E.: [1929] 1995, Cartesianische Meditationen: Eine Einleitung in die Phänomenologie (3., durchgesehene Auflage). Hamburg: Felix Meiner .
Jaspers K. (1973). Philosophie: I. Philosophische Weltorientierung (Vierte, unveränderte Auflage). Berlin, Springer-Verlag
Kuhn T.S. (1970) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd edition, Enlarged. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press
Lofland J. (1976) Doing Social Life: The Qualitative Study of Human Interaction in Natural Settings. New York, Wiley
Malachowski A. (eds) (2004). Pragmatism. Volume 1: The Historical of Pragmatism. London, Sage Publications
Mannheim K. (1929). Ideologie und Utopie. Bonn, Cohen
Merriam-Webster (1993). Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary,10th edition. Springfield, MA, Merriam-Webster
Merton R.K (1968). Social Theory and Social Structure, Enlarged edition. New York, The Free Press
Olson A.M. (1979). Transcendence and Hermeneutics: An Interpretation of the Philosophy of Karl Jaspers. The Hague, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Peirce C.S. (1878): How To Make Our Ideas Clear. Popular Science Monthly 12: 286–302
Pheby J. (1988). Methodology and Economics: A Critical Introduction. London, Macmillan
Phillips S.H. (1995). Classical Indian Metaphysics: Refutations of Realism and the Emergence of “New Logic”. Chicago, Open Court
Putnam, H.: 1995, Pragmatism. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society XCV(3): 291–306
Rorty, R.: 1998, Truth and Progress: Philosophical Papers, Vol. 3. Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Press
Rorty R. (1999). Philosophy and Social Hope. London, Penguin
Sharma T.R. (1994). An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy (Vijñanavada and Madhyamika). Delhi, Eastern Book Linkers
Soeffner H.-G. (ed) (1979). Interpretative Verfahren in den Sozial- und Textwissenschaften. Stuttgart, Metzler
Sprung, M. (ed.): [1978] 1995, The Question of Being: East–West Perspectives. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications.
Strauss A. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge, University Press
Voegelin, E.: [1943] 1993, Letter from Voegelin to Alfred Schutz on Edmund Husserl. In P. Emberley and B. Cooper (eds.), Faith and Political Philosophy: The Correspondence Between Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin, 1934–1964. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 19–34.
Voegelin, E.: [1977] 1990, Wisdom and the Magic of the Extreme: A . In E. Sandoz (ed.),The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin. Vol. 12. Published Essays: 1966–1985. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 315–375.
Voegelin, E.: 1990, The Beginning and the Beyond: A Meditation on Truth. In T. A. Hollweck and P. Caringella (eds.), The Collected Works of Eric Voegelin. Vol. 28. What is History? and Other Late Unpublished Writings. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 173–232.
Weber, M.: [1922] 1988, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck).
Zimbardo P.G., Leippe M.R. (1991). The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence. New York, McGraw-Hill
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bosch, R. Pragmatism and the Practical Relevance of Truth. Found Sci 12, 189–201 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-006-9101-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-006-9101-4