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Realist vs Pragmatist - What's the difference?

realist | pragmatist |

As nouns the difference between realist and pragmatist

is that realist is an advocate of realism; one who believes that matter, objects etc. have real existence beyond our perception of them while pragmatist is one who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.

realist

Noun

(en noun)
  • (philosophy) An advocate of realism; one who believes that matter, objects etc. have real existence beyond our perception of them.
  • * 1946 , (Bertrand Russell), History of Western Philosophy , I.19:
  • Aristotle's own doctrine is far from clear. It was this lack of clarity that made possible the medieval controversy between nominalists and realists .
  • One who believes in seeing things the way they really are, as opposed to how they would like them to be.
  • (arts, literature) An adherent of the realism movement; an artist who seeks to portray real everyday life accurately.
  • Anagrams

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    pragmatist

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.
  • A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers.
  • One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.
  • I'm not a thief, I am a pragmatist. I need this bread to feed my family.
    We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain, he's an opportunist and a pragmatist.
  • One who belongs to the philosophic school of pragmatism; one who holds that the meaning of beliefs are the actions they entail, and that the truth of those beliefs consist in the actions they entail successfully leading a believer to their goals.
  • * 2007 , John Lachs and Robert Talisse, American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia , p. 310.
  • [S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world.