Homework Help?

Question

This section of my class has to do with Pragmatism. I'm okay at Philosophy, but I'm having a hard time understanding what the actual question is asking. Can someone just assist me in what the question is really asking in layman's terms? Here it is word for word:

If you were a pragmatist, how would you reconcile your belief that you can know your experience with your belief that an objective reality exists?

My thoughts: If I was a pragmatist, why would I reconcile my belief? And pragmatism is all about experience and objective reality, so why the challenge? I feel as if I'm missing the point in the question. Please help clarify. Thanks.

Answer 1

I see that you are not getting many replies. I imagine that this is because you are not alone in your confusion over this question!

As suggested, pragmatists believe in the existence of an objective reality. As I understand it, a pragmatist would define "experience" as our subjective interpretation of the interaction between ourselves and this objective reality. Like you, I don't see that there is anything here that requires reconciliation, unless the asker fundamentally misunderstands the pragmatical definition which would be associated with the phrase "know your experience". If the asker is defining "know" as "objectively know", which would be outside of our subjective experience, then the asker is making a point-of-view error. I don't believe that pragmatists necessarily believe that it IS possible to "objectively know" our interaction with the environment, and so to use this definition of "know" rather than the pragmatically preferred definition of "subjectively know" would be incorrect. I believe that objective knowledge about our experience would require an observation from outside the system, and no such observation is possible (as quantum physics tells us).

My personal opinion is that this question is inherently flawed.

Answer 2

Sorry canit help you myself that school must be hard!