Pragmatism and what works
Luke 14:25–33 “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (v. 28). While most of the philosophies that have shaped western culture are European in origin, pragmatism is at least one worldview that was born in the west. Its assumptions lie at the heart of postmodernism, that catch-all term used to describe the views that dominate Western thinking in the first part of the twenty-first century. Pragmatic philosophers are generally agnostic as to whether ultimate, transcendent truth even exists. Even if objective truth exists, they say, it cannot be known, nor is it even worth pursuing. Truth is therefore radically redefined. Traditionally, truth is regarded as that which corresponds to reality. However, truth in pragmatism is what “works.” This leads to relativism. What “works” for you is not necessarily what “works” for me. Christianity may make me a happier person; thus, it is true for me. Mu...