It seems unimaginable to connect the name of James Joyce with pragmatism, but its relevancy has been already discussed by a few critics. Almost all discussions of Joyce`s aesthetic theory have focused on the Stephen Dedalus of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. But Joyce`s aesthetic machine consists of two disparate axles-Stephen`s and Bloom`s. So we have to approach Ulysses in terms of Bloom`s aesthetic, which is related to Hebraic values. In a book review published in Daily Express, Joyce understands pragmatism as this: "Pragmatism is really a very considerable thing. It reforms logic, it shows the absurdity of pure thought, it establishes an ethical basis for metaphysic, makes practical usefulness the criterion of truth, and pensions off the Absolute once and for all. In other words, pragmatism is common-sense" (CW, 135). In addition, Joyce distinguishes between "philosophic" and "pragmatic" history in a note to Finnegans Wake. By combining these conceptions related to pragmatism, I will show that Bloom`s aesthetic is based on Joyce`s understanding of pragmatism. In order to understand Joyce`s distinction, we must first of all look at his concept of "history," which is identified as "denial of reality" in a speech on Irish poet James Clarence Mangan delivered in University College, Dublin. Joyce`s "pragmatic" history is in opposition to what Derrida calls "metaphysical concept of history." Derrida prefers "intervallic, differentiated histories" rather than history as "the linear consecution of presence." In this respect, the best example of "metaphysical concept of history" can be found in Mr. Deasy`s perspective on history: "All human history moves toward a great goal: manifestations of God." Throughout Ulysses, Joyce brings out a lot of different discourses on history and, by doing so, never allows no single historical perspective to be valorized. In other words, Joyce`s "pragmatic" history implies a consistent, ongoing struggle against the danger of universalizing a history, especially the victor`s. Joyce as a colonial writer denies any historical discourse that may endorse the British imperialist ideology. Rather than compromising the values of Hellenism and Hebraism asserted by Matthew Arnold, Joyce puts Stephen`s and Bloom`s aesthetics in an eternal struggle, thereby producing stories, not History. Joyce`s protagonist, Leopold Bloom, is an eccentric person, a personification of Joyce`s concept of pragmatism. His eccentricity rejects any consolidating authority and incessantly interrogates traditional notions of art. In the National Museum scene, Bloom tries to make sure whether a statue of a Greek goddess has "three holes." The statue of a Greek goddess is regarded as representing of the Hellenistic value of beauty as a seamless whole. Bloom is searching for "holes" in a seamless totality. Bloom`s "eccentric" behavior and thinking reveals "the absurdity of pure thought," and "pensions off the Absolute." As ad canvasser, Bloom interrogates everything in terms of pragmatic validity, thus leveling the hierarchy of values. Joyce`s pragmatism is permeated in his attitude toward history and Bloom personifies its values. It is why Ulysses is an encyclopedia of not only narrative styles, but also historical perspectives. It defies any unifying approach and its final meaning is persistently displaced.