Richard Rorty: A Short Introduction / essentials (PDF)

The essential provides a brief introduction to the main features of Richard Rorty's neopragatism. At the same time, it offers a systematic guide to a fruitful reading of Rorty. The author proposes to read it as a fragile balance of pragmatism and romanticism by which Rorty seeks to change our self-image. Moreover, he elucidates this transformative ambition through a sketch of "Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity" and the utopian figure of the liberal ironist. The essential concludes with a reference to Rorty's hitherto unrecognized ethico-political motivation and with a methodological suggestion for further reading of his texts: One must apply the pragmatist method to himself.

The content

• Introduction: Reading Rorty's work as a balance of pragmatism and romanticism
• Revolutionary language game pragmatism after the linguistic turn
• The strong romantic dimension of Rorty's neopragmatism
The liberal utopia of a combination of public pragmatism and private romanticism in Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity.
• Conclusion: Democratic Anti-Authoritarianism - Rorty's Ethical-Political Motivation

The target groups

• Students and teachers of social sciences and philosophy

The author

Dr. Martin Müller is a flight captain and lecturer in philosophy at the Munich Volkshochschule. As long-time Rorty interpreter, he is currently on the board of the Richard Rorty Society.