Pragmatism and its various uses: A journey through Peirce, Foucault, and Deleuze

• Fabbrichesi, Rossella ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Milan

     University of Milan

     Milán, Italia

     
• Localización: Estudios de Filosofía, ISSN-e 2256-358X, ISSN 0121-3628, Nº. 74, 2026 (Ejemplar dedicado a: July-December (The open borders of pragmatism)), págs. 224-242
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.17533/udea.ef.362142
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Pragmatismo y sus diversos usos: Un recorrido por Peirce, Foucault y Deleuze
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Este artículo examina las afinidades conceptuales entre el pragmatismo estadounidense y el pensamiento postestructuralista europeo a partir de una lectura comparativa de Charles S. Peirce, Michel Foucault y Gilles Deleuze. Sostiene que la “revolución ultracopernicana” del pragmatismo desplaza la atención filosófica desde la esencia de las cosas hacia sus efectos prácticos, redefiniendo el significado en términos de hábitos, consecuencias y modos de acción. Desde esta perspectiva, las reflexiones de Deleuze sobre la potencia de los cuerpos y los análisis foucaultianos de las prácticas de sí pueden leerse pragmatistamente como formas de producción de verdad y subjetividad. El artículo explora además la dimensión comunitaria y política del pragmatismo, especialmente en Peirce, subrayando su crítica al individualismo y su defensa de una concepción social de la verdad basada en la continuidad, la cooperación y la comunidad interpretativa. Finalmente, vincula el pragmatismo con una geofilosofía de la esperanza, la confianza y la democracia.

  • English

    This article examines the conceptual affinities between American Pragmatism and European post-structuralist thought through a comparative reading of Charles S. Peirce, Michel Foucault, and Gilles Deleuze. It argues that Peirce’s “ultra-Copernican revolution” redefines philosophical inquiry by shifting attention from the essence of concepts to their practical effects. Meaning is thus understood in terms of consequences, as a possible difference in practice. From this perspective, Deleuze’s question what can a body do? and Foucault’s analyses of power and the practices of the self are interpreted pragmatically: truth and meaning are not fixed entities but effects produced within habits, understood as socially embedded dispositions to act. Foucault’s ethopoietics becomes a practice of deliberate self-formation oriented toward effective conduct. The article concludes by exploring the political dimension of Peirce’s realism and his doctrine of “Evolutionary Love,” emphasizing continuity and communal aspiration, and aligning pragmatism with a geophilosophy grounded in hope, trust, and democratic community.

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