Pragmatism’s Advantage

Abstract

In this paper, the author argues that within the current philosophical debate, pragmatism has a distinct advantage over its rivalson the one hand, Anglo-American analytic philosophy and, on the other hand, continental philosophy. By refusing to succumb to `naturalizing' tendencies, pragmatism is able to overcome scientistic tendencies in contemporary analytic philosophy. At the same time, by emphasizing the `natural', pragmatism provides a helpful correction to metaphysical tendencies in continental philosophy.