Consider what effects, that might conceivably have practical bearings, we conceive the object of our conception to have. Then, our conception of these effects is the whole of our conception of the object.

This statement expresses a pragmatic method for clarifying the meaning of an idea by linking it to the practical consequences we would expect if the idea were true.

To understand what a concept really means, identify the observable or actionable differences it would make in experience; the concept’s meaning is exhausted by those conceivable practical effects.