ABSTRACT
The philosophy of pragmatism emerged in the USA in the late 1800s during a period of particularly intense and rapid social change. Historically, pragmatism has often been mistaken as the philosophical equivalent of a pragmatic attitude in a colloquial or even cynical sense of the term: as action that focuses on 'what works' regardless of ethical or political considerations. This chapter focuses on John Dewey's quasi-evolutionary perspective on intelligent social action. The pragmatist theory of action emerged in the context of evolutionary epistemology as developed by Charles Sanders Peirce. The pragmatist theory of action maintains that most action is habitual. Dewey vehemently advocated for the adoption of experimental methods for the purposes of social problem solving. In the context of the bureaucratic model of action, ends are regarded as unproblematic, stable and given. A rudimentary conception of what it means to further human well-being can be derived from the discussion on the merits of habitual action.
