Quotation
Last reviewed:
“The true is only the expedient in the way of our thinking.”
William James · Pragmatism · Modern · 1907
What does it mean?
The true, he says, is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, as the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving. Expedient sounds like convenient, and he spends the next lines refusing that reading. He means what works in the long run and on the whole of experience. A rival reading stops at the shocking noun and concludes that pragmatism is a theory of useful lies. Another reading, his own earlier maxim, is gentler: look for the difference an idea makes.
Did William James really say this?
The library’s label is Well attested. James's English in the lecture on pragmatism's conception of truth. He puts 'the true' in quotes and adds, in the same sentence, that the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving. He immediately says he means expedient in the long run and on the whole, not what is convenient this afternoon.
Where it comes from
Pragmatism, lecture 6
Approximate date: 1907.
How to use it
A forecast in a newsroom is called true because it would be useful if people believed it. James's gloss rules that out if the long run of experience will not bear it. A forecast that organises inquiry and survives contact with the week is closer to what he means by expedient. The afternoon's convenience is the misreading. The long run is the doctrine, and it is still a doctrine you can reject.
A mindset reading
Lecture 2's 'difference that makes a difference' is the method. Lecture 6 is the theory of truth. They are related and they are not the same sentence. People who hate pragmatism usually hate lecture 6. They should say so, rather than refuting a convenience he disowned.
Understand the philosophy
Pragmatism, 1907, is lectures. The truth lecture is where he is closest to being misunderstood on purpose, because he chose the word expedient knowing how it would sound. The courage of the word is not a defence of it.
- knowledge
- mind
- meaning
FAQ
What does it mean?
The true, he says, is only the expedient in the way of our thinking, as the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving. Expedient sounds like convenient, and he spends the next lines refusing that reading. He means what works in the long run and on the whole of experience. A rival reading stops at the shocking noun and concludes that pragmatism is a theory of useful lies. Another reading, his own earlier maxim, is gentler: look for the difference an idea makes.
Did William James really say this?
Well attested. James's English in the lecture on pragmatism's conception of truth. He puts 'the true' in quotes and adds, in the same sentence, that the right is only the expedient in the way of our behaving. He immediately says he means expedient in the long run and on the whole, not what is convenient this afternoon.
Which work is it in?
Pragmatism, lecture 6 Approximate date: 1907.