How did pragmatism challenge the idealist view of reality?

Pragmatism emerged as a direct challenge to the 19th-century idealist view of reality, which characterized the world as a fixed, abstract system woven from internal mental relations. Pragmatists rejected these "closed systems" and the idealist tendency to treat the mind as a metaphysical principle of cosmic explanation.12

Instead, pragmatism challenged idealism through the following shifts:

• From Abstraction to Action: Pragmatists emphasized the "plastic" nature of reality, arguing that existence is fundamentally concerned with action and adaptation rather than static, intellectual categories. They prioritized actual experience over a priori reasoning and fixed principles.21
• Functionalism: Rather than viewing ideas as replicas or copies of external objects, pragmatists interpreted ideas as instruments and plans of action. Ideas are evaluated based on their utility and their ability to help individuals navigate and control their environment.23
• Evolutionary Perspective: Influenced by evolutionary theory, pragmatists focused on growth, change, and the struggle of life, contrasting this with the idealist account of a finished, rational universe.1
• Verification over Coherence: While idealists often defined truth as the internal coherence of a belief system, pragmatists argued that truth is found in the process of verification and the successful working of an idea in practice.24