How did British empiricism influence the development of pragmatism?

British empiricism served as a foundational influence on the development of pragmatism, primarily by emphasizing the role of experience in the formation of knowledge.1

Early pragmatists were particularly influenced by the British tradition—represented by thinkers such as John Stuart Mill, Alexander Bain, and John Venn—which analyzed beliefs as being intimately tied to action. This perspective allowed pragmatists to define beliefs in terms of an individual's motives and dispositions to act, moving away from the abstract, fixed categories found in 19th-century idealism.1

Additionally, the work of George Berkeley was significant; his theory regarding the practical, inferential nature of knowledge and his view of sensations as predictive signs of future experience led Charles Sanders Peirce to credit him as an early precursor to pragmatism. By prioritizing the practical consequences of ideas and the necessity of experience, British empiricism helped pragmatists develop a nonidealist interpretation of nature and human reason.1