Pragmatism and Progress

I distinguish two concepts of progress. One of them is teleological: we make progress by decreasing our distance from a goal. The other, I suggest, is pragmatic: progress consists in overcoming some of the problems of the current state. Scientific progress is best thought of as a type of pragmatic progress. Once this is understood, we can recognize that the deepest form of scientific progress does not focus on content alone, but on the ways in which inquiry is adapted to meeting human needs. I connect this concept of progress with themes in Dewey, proposing a Deweyan emendation of some Peircean themes in Chris Hookway’s thought.