ABSTRACT
Pragmatism has been described so often as an American philosophy or even the American philosophy, as in the expression "The American Experience in Philosophy: Pragmatism." In 1982 Richard Rorty complained that pragmatism was seen in Europe as an outdated philosophy, something of historical value, sometimes praised for its anti-platonic approach, sometimes criticised for not being anti-platonic enough. To counterweigh these tendencies he offered his own interpretation and apology for pragmatism as a movement that in turn paved the way for the most recent achievements of French and German thought. Pragmatism encourages students of society to start with the realities of daily lives of ordinary people and with the way they find solutions to their moral dilemmas. This philosophy approaches moral action as a unique decision taken in a unique situation; nothing heroic, rather a small step in the process of developing moral competence in the process of "continued betterment.".
