René Descartes thought pragmatically. However, at the time, nobody would have called his thinking pragmatic because pragmatism had not been established as a philosophical viewpoint. Descartes is frequently viewed as a founder of rationalism and he employed universal truths, like the existence of a perfect being (or God), as the foundations of his philosophies. The rationalists view truth as an almost tangible, unchanging entity, which can be obtained and understood. Pragmatism however, concerns itself with the ideology that truth is what happens to a concept after it is proven to be both agreeable and beneficial to reality. Descartes's most basic philosophical truth, I think therefore I am, reveals itself as an entirely pragmatic concept when considered under the light of James. By examining both authors, we can see how pragmatism has its hand in rationalism, and how indubitable pragmatism's role is in determining and discerning truth, whether or not the applier (of pragmatism) is aware of it. .
Descartes said that his existence stems from and is proven by his ability to think, which is the opposite of saying that his existence gives way to his ability to think. That is pragmatism in action! Descartes has just proven his existence is true, or a truth. The truth of his life did not (or does not) exist before (or without) his act of thinking. Therefore, his action is what generated the truth, and the ending of that action would thus end the truth. This illuminates two ideals of pragmatism. First: action and experimentation are what create truth, and second: truth is neither eternal nor immutable; it is malleable. .
"It is no less a contradiction that falsity or imperfection as such proceeds from God, than that truth or perfection proceeds from nothing." .
(Descartes 22) .
Descartes is saying that even though humans sometimes have false ideas, it is because we are not God and not perfect and therefore cannot comprehend all things "that have something confused or obscure about them.
