Ormerod, R. J. (2006) The history and ideas of pragmatism. Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol.57 (No.8). pp. 892-909. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602065

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Abstract

This paper examines the origins of philosophical pragmatism in the USA in the second half of the 19th-century and its development and use up to the Second World War. The story is told through the lives and ideas of some of the main originators, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, Charles Saunders Peirce, William James and John Dewey. The core idea of pragmatism, that beliefs are guides to actions and should be judged against the outcomes rather than abstract principles, dominated American thinking during the period of economic and political growth from which the USA emerged as a world power. The paper suggests that the practical, commonsense, scientific approach embedded in pragmatism resonates with OR as practised and that much of pragmatism could be attractive to practitioners and academics alike. Journal of the Operational Research Society (2006) 57, 892-909.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School > Operational Research & Management Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Warwick Business School
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of the Operational Research Society
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
ISSN:	0160-5682
Official Date:	August 2006
Dates:	Date Event August 2006 UNSPECIFIED
Volume:	Vol.57
Number:	No.8
Number of Pages:	18
Page Range:	pp. 892-909
DOI:	10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602065
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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