Question

Does James account for common sense qualify him to be called a pragmatist?

Or do you think William James should or should not be called a pragmatist?(The same question as above, it's just worded differently)

Thank you.

Answer 1

According to me, William James should be called a pragmatist.
Pragmatism is an ideology based on the view that any proposition is right if it acts are satisfactory.

It is an approach which judge the truth of any philosophy or ideology on the basis of its outcomes. It means if it's are positive then it's proposition is to be accepted and morally it's right and if it's outcomes are negative then it's proposition is to be rejected and morally it's wrong.

It's basically a philosophical movement which have some beliefs which are :-
Truth can be altered, human views are necessary for academic investigation, truth is not complete, the meaning and act are interrelated and the things to be examined whether they encourage flexibility and uniformity.

As per William James, truth could be determined on the basis of its influence on human behavior, that's why religious belief of any person can be justified if it makes a positive difference in some ones life.