Pragmatism’s influences on American lifestyle

54 HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE Social Sciences, 2020, Volume 64, Issue 4D, pp. 54-61 This paper is available online at PRAGMATISM’S INFLUENCES ON AMERICAN LIFESTYLE Nguyen Van Thoa Faculty of Philosophy, Hanoi National Universtiy of Education Abstract. Pragmatism, originated in United States has met their people’s needs on practical results. Pragmatism is a mode of thought in action, in which action is a key means and the actual effect is its purposes. Pragmatism has become the “spiritual specialty” of American people, having a profound impact on the American way of life characterized by pragmatism, promoting individualism, concentrating on efficiency, utility and consumer lifestyle. The article clarifies the conception of American way of life, influences of pragmatism on it and some of its manifestations, thereby showing two-sided effects on the development of the United States as a basis for applying and acquiring their values, as well as overcoming their limitations in our country nowadays. Keywords: pragmatism, American lifestyle, pragmatic lifestyle. 1. Introduction Originated from the specific socio-economic condition of the nation, Americans have always been restlessly making efforts in “reaching forward”. What they need is not abstract philosophy but an instrumental reasoning system, a method of thinking that helps them effectively give actions, to prove their own position; therefore, to meet that demand, a brand new philosophical movement was born, named pragmatism. Pragmatism also made a repercussion impact on social life and acted as one of the factors that clearly affect American lifestyle. This lifestyle is typical for its pragmatics, focusing on productivity and materialism, a consumer lifestyle, worshipping individualism and individual freedom. It has had a great influence on the United States’ development in history and at present. However, this impact must be seen as two-sided, both good and bad. There are several well-known scholars studying about American pragmatism in Vietnam, namely Bui Dang Duy, Do Minh Hop, Nguyen Tien Dung, Bui Thi Tinh, Trinh Son Hoan, etc. However, the majority of studies mainly focused on the contents of pragmatism without mentioning the relationship between the philosophy and lifestyle. It can be said that in Vietnam up to now, there has not been any systematic study on the effect of pragmatism on the American lifestyle. Based on inherited research results, I would systematically clarify the influences of pragmatism on the American lifestyle. The research would become a lesson in acquiring and inheriting pragmatism’ values, as well as American lifestyle, also, help us recognize and limit the drawbacks that this lifestyle shows in Vietnam nowadays. Received April 11, 2020. Revised April 24, 2020. Accepted May 15, 2020. Contact Nguyen Van Thoa, e-mail address: thoanv@hnue.edu.vn Pragmatism’s influences on American lifestyle 55 2. Content 2.1. Conception of American lifestyle The United States is often referred to as the “American dream”, which represents the dream of seeking equality and freedom to achieve success in a new land. It is equality of opportunity, here it means opportunity to make properties and change life. Abraham Lincoln stated that, “We hope that the most normal person would have an opportunity of equality like any others, as to grow rich a society of freedom must be a place where that person knows he can improve his own living” [1, p. 63]. This was shown clearly in Martin Luther King’s article, titled “I have a dream”: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true” [1, pp.68-69]. The idea of freedom and equality became the content to shape the nature of American lifestyle. American lifestyle, as a “common belief” of American society, has coexisted for centuries with other beliefs of the nation, both influence each other in a wide, sophisticated and complex way. Originally, American lifestyle was formed by the Protestant traits that immigrants brought to the country to realize the American dream. Their imagination of a “promised land” in the wilderness of the New World has become a profound sense, Americans’ hope for the new and unique of everything on the land of Western Hemisphere; created American beliefs in its own actions to conquer new lands. The pragmatism also contributed to the pragmatic belief that already existed in Protestantism, affecting American lifestyle. On the other hand, the American lifestyle also contributes to shaping and restoring the religious beliefs of immigrants to the United States. It can be said that once coming to the US, the long-standing religions tend to be “Americanized” under the profound influence of American material lifestyle and historical conditions. In addition to the osmosis and impact of religion and spiritual factors on the American lifestyle, we also see the impact of social historical conditions and material lifestyle in the United States. The total force of that influence, in which secular religion, religious beliefs became pragmatic belief, has had a strong impact on forming the American lifestyle. Americans believe in religion in a more different way than any other nation: in which it carries a pragmatic belief, an American dream - a dream of those who aspire to change and become successful. Pragmatism contributed to the interpretation of American beliefs and lifestyle. That created a fit between Religion - Pragmatism and the American lifestyle. There also exists truth within religion because truth brings “good things” to individuals and communities. Every class has its lifestyle, according to its views and any philosophical trend has its ideal basis for a certain lifestyle. Pragmatism is no exception; it was born during the new development and ambition of American expansion. Pragmatism manifests the ideology of the bourgeoisie; in particular, it associates its philosophy with a lifestyle known as the “pragmatic lifestyle” or the American lifestyle. Therefore, considering pragmatism we need to look into the expressions of American lifestyle. Lifestyle does not only include each person's way of living such as eating, dressing, staying, entertaining, etc. but, in philosophical sense, is the whole way of living of each individual, in order to satisfy their unique needs and personality development. Lifestyle is defined by physical conditions of the society and the expressions are not the same between each person. American lifestyle is not easy to define, especially about American culture, which is described as follows, “Americans do not like generalizing about American lifestyle. Being atypical or unwilling to become typical is part of American” [1, p.50]. That does not mean we Nguyen Van Thoa 56 could not figure out the core nature of this lifestyle, as it is shown in the thought of freedom and democracy in an American sense. Politically, it is institutionalized, with the highest being the Constitution; economically, it is manifested in “free trade”; socially, as liberalism and equality, and it is not only appropriate but actually leads to strong economic competition and high flexibility. Mentally, it is perceived to reflect the American identity. It is a pragmatic belief, where religious symbols become the symbol of faith that every American worship and practice. American lifestyle is typical for its individualism, pragmatism and activeness. It affirms the ultimate value and dignity of individual freedom; it emphasizes the relentless activeness to assert the role of each individual, because the individual himself never stops, and always strives to “go forward”; it defines a moral standard of independence, talent and personality, and judges by success or failure: “action, no belief” is what it is based on, in this way, efficiency, usefulness, success are truth: “The declared principles of the United States promote the efforts of each individual to create a better life... American society allows personal freedom to a high level, in every attempt to fulfill that promise” [2, pp.41-42]. American lifestyle is target- oriented, “forward-looking”, and optimistic. Americans also show their generosity and kindness since they are willing to respond to sorrows that occurs anywhere in the world. Americans believe in progress, in self-improvement, and particularly, believe in the power of education to bring about change and positive values. Because they are idealistic, they tend to confuse between approving an ideal and implementing that. Therefore, they easily consider themselves as good as their ideals and uphold their individual qualities.At the same time, they make a clear distinction between right and wrong: they tend to consider issues simply and frankly, crystal clear and treat them as moral issues.It can be seen that the core of American lifestyle is the promotion of personal freedom, equality, pragmatism, practicality, dynamic, progressiveness, consumer lifestyle and focusing on material values. These factors have affected every aspect of the American social life. 2.2. The influence of pragmatism on the American lifestyle Before the birth of pragmatic philosophy, the United States was considered a country with little interest in philosophy. We all understand the philosophy that Americans were less concerned about is the metaphysical, abstract philosophy coming from Europe, which is also the home of most immigrants to the United States. A. Tocqueville, a researcher considered to understand America better than themselves, gave us a true insight into American philosophy: “In my opinion, there is no country in the civilized world that we are less preoccupied with philosophy than the United States. Americans do not have a particular school of philosophy and they are less interested in the schools of philosophy that are divided in Europe; they know the schools by name and it is hard enough” [3, p.567]. The American way of thinking comes from specific events in order to find effective ways of action. Therefore, they turned away from the dogmas of speculative philosophy. Tocqueville was right about American philosophy: “Beyond the systemic spirit, from the yoke of habit, family maxims, class views, and to some extent, free from nationalist prejudices; traditions treated as information and happening events as a useful way to look different and act better; exploring self-reliance and only seeking the cause of things within themselves, aiming results without being bound by the means but the root of the problem shown at its outward appearance” [3, p. 567]. Pragmatic philosophy, born in the United States in the late nineteenth century created relevance not only for American way of thinking, but also in accordance with the characteristics of its nation, people, culture and characteristics. It meets Americans’ requirements – who are self-made and independent people, in which efficiency and success in action plays the core part: “If there is any kind of philosophy in the world that closely keeps up with pulses of the era, firstly, it is necessary to mention the philosophy of pragmatism of the United States, which was Pragmatism’s influences on American lifestyle 57 born in the call of the American era, together with the development of American society, becoming the philosophy of American life” [4, p. 69]. C. Peirce was the philosopher laying the foundation of American pragmatic philosophy. This school of philosophy expresses the resistance to the rational, epistemological, abstract truth originated from Europe which is no more practical, useful to most Americans. They are known to have left their homeland, sailing across the Atlantic to start a career on this new continent, to find changes and desire to succeed. Thus, it is not surprising that they are realistic, and act based on reality. The ideas of C.Peirce's pragmatic philosophy have somewhat met the needs of Americans. Concreting C.Peirce's mind, W.James asserted that useful ideas were acknowledged, otherwise, they would be replaced. Useful ideas should be truth. It is a famous definition about “truth” in pragmatic philosophy. This definition is suitable not only for American culture but only for their personalities who dislike conservation and dogmatism. Having left Europe where rationalism with massive theories, in order to find a new and promising land aiming to build a bright future. It is understood that everyone has the same opportunity and desire to change, so what they can do is only to move forward, live by their pragmatic faith with extraordinary energy, with all their abilities and efforts. To become successful, besides perseverance, optimism, progressiveness, and courage people must also be adaptive, creative, flexible due to practical circumstances and situations. The ultimate target is efficiency, benefits and success in action. Pragmatic philosophers have defined human’s cognitive task is to reform the world. Being conscious is to achieve practical efficiency and success for humans. Consciousness must, therefore, become a tool for improving reality, as to bring the efficiency, benefits and success - which is the standard of truth. Here, we see a similarity between Marxist - Leninist philosophy and pragmatic philosophy. Marxist - Leninist philosophy sees reality as the goal of consciousness, and J.Dewey sees perception as a task and a tool to improve reality. Consciousness must be considered as tools, just like other physical objects that affect and improve the world. The cognitive tool expressed through the spirit and mind of the human being has great potentials and effects in reforming the world, once it effectively improves the reality, that tool is truth. This point of view is worth acknowledging, especially in the current knowledge economy when the value of a product does not lie mostly and magnificently in materials, fuels, but knowledge and human intellect. Thus, it is no exaggeration to say that pragmatic philosophy has been deeply rooted in American social life and people. It has become an action tool to help people achieve efficiency, benefits and success, thereby promoting social development. Therefore, pragmatic philosophy has had an impact on every aspect of American society and people. The promotion of practice and the importance of effectiveness have made the vitality of pragmatic philosophy: “It is not strange that this theory was born in America - the land of pragmatism, where the criterion of all values is success” [2, p.237]. Here we could see a coincidence how the truth is defined in both this philosophy and the American mindset, while Americans are people who always appreciate reality and efficiency. In their mind, truth is identified with efficiency, benefits and success. In other words, the formation of pragmatic philosophy is a reflection of American thinking, culture, lifestyle. It would be hard to clarify which existed first, but what we can be sure of is that mentioning America, pragmatism should be called out and vice versa. In this nation, the standard of truth consists of efficiency, benefits, satisfaction and success in the activity of improving human’s living reality. Since the 70s - 80s of the twentieth century when Americanization in the West happened, even now, this movement is taking place more and more deeply in the world. It would be hard to deny the great influence the US had on the world in Nguyen Van Thoa 58 every aspect, including cultural and lifestyle influence to Western countries in particular and countries around the world in general. These causes and great influences can be found from the positive effects of American pragmatic philosophy to the formation and development of their own social, cultural and lifestyle. As a philosophical movement, pragmatism was born out of American socio-economic conditions, however, being a form of social consciousness, pragmatism, in turn, has an impact on American social life. American pragmatism exists as not only a theoretical system but also comes into life, forming the so-called “American pragmatic lifestyle”. That lifestyle is defined by material conditions, production methods, social existence and is manifested in personal life. American lifestyle is a reflection of the material living conditions in American capitalist society. Although born later, but in the nineteenth century, the US possessed a mechanized, modernized industry which is highly developed far beyond many countries, including those which developed earlier than the US. That physical strength located America in general and the American bourgeoisie in particular an important position, leading the system of capitalist countries. This achievement greatly influenced the mindset of the American bourgeoisie and thinkers. It is their optimistic thinking that science and technology have brought them the most powerful development in the world. That thought also has a profound impact on the American lifestyle. According to them, nothing else but science and technical factors are the only means to achieve the goal of efficiency, success and wealth. This technical element is the basis for them to build trust in life. At that time, technical worshipping was even becoming a tendency in American society. It had a new name, “technocratic society”; in other words, technology plays a huge role, dominating the entire social life. Pursuing efficiency and interests, pragmatism stated that technology has an absolute power, as a means for people to achieve their effectivity goals. Thought of technology as dominance does not only apply in economic life but also thoroughly controls all aspects of social life such as politics, ideological culture... It has come to life and become the lifestyle of the whole society. With a pragmatic spirit, American society is open in political institution that values and receives all the ideas and doctrines making American society develop and prosper. With such an open political position, the United States encourages a spirit of democracy and freedom. In particular, the American bourgeoisie highly praised democracy and considered it a condition for human beings to attain true freedom. They themselves also identify as “a world of freedom”. Yet, freedom in American society is merely freedom for the minority, for the rich or the bourgeoisie. Responding to democracy and freedom, pragmatists also strongly encouraged and explained democracy in a pragmatic spirit. Democracy must be attached with the cult of material power. J.Dewey once stated that democracy was a belief in the capacity of human experience to set goals and methods, so that the experience develops and becomes nurtured. Being pragmatic, considering effectiveness and benefits for people is what needs to be concerned; therefore, when the bourgeoisie applies technocracy in social life, they think that changes in society today are controlled by technology and not by humans. Therefore, the existence of the bourgeoisie and capitalism would also be indispensable and that dominant social role, of course does not belong to anyone else but technicians. Promoting the role of technocracy, effectiveness means right, good and truthful. This caused a certain cult in American social life. Due to the cult of technology and the physical conditions it brings, a common lifestyle in the US and many capitalist countries is now existent, named “consumer lifesty