On Philosophy and Philosophers: Unpublished Papers, 1960-2000

Description

On Philosophy and Philosophers is a volume of unpublished philosophical papers by Richard Rorty, a central figure in late-twentieth-century intellectual debates and a primary force behind the resurgence of American pragmatism. The first collection of new work to appear since his death in 2007, these previously unseen papers advance novel views on metaphysics, ethics, epistemology, philosophical semantics and the social role of philosophy, critically engaging canonical and contemporary figures from Plato and Kant to Kripke and Brandom. This book's diverse offerings, which include technical essays written for specialists and popular lectures, refine our understanding of Rorty's perspective and demonstrate the ongoing relevance of the iconoclastic American philosopher's ground-breaking thought. An introduction by the editors highlights the papers' original insights and contributions to contemporary debates.

Richard Rorty (1931-2007) was Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature at Stanford University, California. W. P. Malecki is Assistant Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. Chris Voparil teaches political theory and philosophy at Union Institute & University, Cincinnati.

'The Rorty that emerges from these essays is an ardent but not doctrinaire pragmatist and naturalist, who warns about the political dangers inherent in the idealist and anti-naturalist positions, while also seeing the risks of a headlong rush by philosophers into accepting Locke's vision of the philosopher as a follower, not a leader, a mere 'under-labourer, removing some of the Rubbish,' in the wake of 'the incomparable Mr. Newton.' This volume sets a timely example of how a politically engaged philosopher can put hard won expertise to valuable use.' Daniel C. Dennett '[W]e consistently observe in this collection a rigorous, voracious reader developing and refining his metaphilosophical views via analysis of first-order debates and their hidden assumptions. Rorty still has much to teach us about both these debates and about metaphilosophy itself.' Metascience '... will be of interest to scholars who specialize in Rorty's work, to those invested in the nature and development of neopragmatism, and to any philosophical audience who enjoys bracing, clear, and unique perspectives on a range of philosophical topics-from the interpretation of Kant, to discussions of contemporary metasemantics, to, above all, the nature of philosophy itself.' Matthew Shields, Metascience