[in-struh-men-tl-iz-uh
m] 
| the variety of pragmatism developed by John Dewey, maintaining that the truth of an idea is determined by its success in the active solution of a problem and that the value of ideas is determined by their function in human experience. |
| in·stru·men·tal·ism (ĭn'strə-měn'tl-ĭz'əm) n. A pragmatic theory that ideas are instruments that function as guides of action, their validity being determined by the success of the action. |