Quotation
Last reviewed:
“There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference elsewhere.”
William James · Pragmatism · Modern · 1907
What does it mean?
There can be no difference anywhere that doesn't make a difference elsewhere. A distinction that changes nothing you can experience or do is, for this method, an idle distinction. James is stating Peirce's pragmatic maxim in his own voice. A rival reading narrows the test to cash and laboratory readings, then congratulates itself on having refuted every moral disagreement. He includes the difference a belief makes to a life, which is wider than a meter. Another rival says the test is too wide, and will count any comforting consequence as a real difference.
Did William James really say this?
The library’s label is Well attested. James's English, from the lecture on what pragmatism means. He is stating Peirce's pragmatic maxim in his own voice, as a test of ideas.
Where it comes from
Pragmatism, lecture 2
Approximate date: 1907.
How to use it
Two people in a Cambridge lab, or in a pub after the lab, sound opposed about a policy and cannot say what would go differently if one of them were right. If the answer is nothing, you may be in a verbal fight. If the answer is 'someone sleeps differently', James still counts that. Your colleague may not.
A mindset reading
The test is a method for settling disputes, not a proof that the survivor is true in some further sense. He also has a theory of truth as what works in the long run. The sentence is the method in its shortest form, not the whole theory.
Understand the philosophy
Pragmatism, lecture 2, offers the maxim as a way to make ideas clear. Later lectures, including the one on truth, are where 'works' becomes more controversial. Do not make this sentence carry those lectures alone.
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FAQ
What does it mean?
There can be no difference anywhere that doesn't make a difference elsewhere. A distinction that changes nothing you can experience or do is, for this method, an idle distinction. James is stating Peirce's pragmatic maxim in his own voice. A rival reading narrows the test to cash and laboratory readings, then congratulates itself on having refuted every moral disagreement. He includes the difference a belief makes to a life, which is wider than a meter. Another rival says the test is too wide, and will count any comforting consequence as a real difference.
Did William James really say this?
Well attested. James's English, from the lecture on what pragmatism means. He is stating Peirce's pragmatic maxim in his own voice, as a test of ideas.
Which work is it in?
Pragmatism, lecture 2 Approximate date: 1907.