Pragmatism and the relevancy of archaeology for contemporary society

Abstract

Pragmatism is at heart the belief that it is better to compromise and move forward even if means not getting everything you want. This chapter works with the philosophy of pragmatism in relation to anthropology and archeology, particularly how the character of these disciplines has and can alter from being detached producer of knowledge to that of more collaborative fields that tries to find solutions to complex problems. Archeology has the capacity to step out of what Dewey called the spectator theory of knowledge, which is the idea that science needs to essentially reproduce the world before it could understand it, and rather work dialectically between the many points of view that have contributed to the outcomes of the past. Specific applications developed in this chapter include modes of addressing historical silence and assisting Native American Tribes in the US Federal Recognition process, such as described for the Nipmuc Tribe of Massachusetts.