Book Description

Richard Rorty is one of the world's most influential living thinkers. He is notorious for contending that the traditional, foundation-building and truth-seeking ambitions of systematic philosophy should be set aside in favor of a more pragmatic, conversational, hermeneutically guided project. This challenge has not only struck at the heart of philosophy but has ricocheted across other disciplines, both contesting their received self-images and opening up new avenues of inquiry in the process.

Alan Malachowski provides an authoritative overview of Rorty's considerable body of work and a general assessment of his impact both within philosophy and in the humanities more broadly. He begins by explaining the genesis of Rorty's central ideas, tracking their development from suggestions in his early papers through their crystallization in his groundbreaking book, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Malachowski evaluates in detail some of the common criticisms of Rorty's position and his ensuing pragmatism. The book goes on to examine the subsequent evolution of his ideas, focusing particularly on the main themes of his second major work, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. The political and cultural impact of Rorty's writings on such diverse fields as feminism, cultural and literary theory, and international relations are also considered, and the author explores why Rorty's work has generally found its warmest reception in these areas rather than among mainstream philosophers.

As the best available introduction to Rorty's thought, this is the ideal entry point for anyone seeking to learn what he has said and why it has been and continues to be so influential.

Customer Reviews (2)

So-So Intro to Interesting Thinker
Richard Rorty by Alan Malachowski is an instalment in the Philosophy Now series published by Princeton University Press. This recent series is focused on introducing contemporary philosophers.

My experience has been that reader reaction to these types of introductions is in large part influenced by two factors, one's view of the "philosopher" under consideration and the quality of the author's presentation of the "philosopher"

With regard to Rorty, although I disagree with him on many points, he is an important commentator with interesting and provocative views. He is particularly effective in highlighting the assumptions and limitations of analytic philosophy - the assessment of his ideas varies amongst readers.Malachowski's exposition of Rorty, and his ideas, is on the weak side.Clearly Malachowski is well versed in Rorty's work, however, his writing style can be irritating.Though Malachowski is lucid at times, in general he comes off like the overly chatty waiter - intruding on a pleasant experience.He appears to be trying too hard to emulate Rorty's conversational writing style. Additionally, for an introduction the book is a bit too ambitious in attempting to put forward Rorty's views as well as those of his critics (difficult in under 200 pages).

This is not a terrible book, however, it misses the mark as an entry point to Rorty.

Good introduction to Rorty. Malachowski has a handle on what Rorty thinks and how he's developed
"His [Rorty's] controversial work has generally been more influential than understood - a fate that justifies an `introduction'" (pg. 2).People like Malachowski are rare to find in philosophy departments.Rorty has more critics than supporters.Malachowski's "Richard Rorty" is a sympathetic and chronological approach to Rorty's intellectual development.Malachowski's more important contribution is the book he edited, Reading Rorty: Critical Responses to Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature and Beyond.

Rorty, himself, can be very accessible and fun to read.The best example is his collection of popular essays in the book Philosophy and Social Hope.If you've never read Rorty before and are looking for one entrance point: buy that book written by Rorty and not this one by Malachowski.

Malachowski creates sections within chapters with headings like "Heidegger" and "Wittgenstein."These sections represent brackets where some of Rorty's influences and themes are placed.Some of these sections are too small to be a contribution to the literature on Rorty but they are sufficiently long and substantive for an introduction to Rorty.For example, the section on "Wittgenstein" would be considered outdated or insufficient considering Rorty's recent publication of his 4th volume of Philosophical Papers where Rorty makes another distinction in his reading on Wittgenstein in the essay "Wittgenstein and the Linguistic Turn."

Malachowski justifies his writing an introduction to Rorty by including a chapter on how he thinks Rorty has been misunderstood and abused by critics (the chapter is titled "Some critics").In that chapter, Malachowski defends Rorty against Simon Blackburn, Alasdiar MacInytre, Thomas Nagel, John Searle, and Bernard Williams.

For recommendations of other books on/about Rorty see my near-comprehensive Amazon listmania titled "Richard Rorty" ... Read more

Book Description
This book offers a fresh perspective on Richard Rorty by situating his work in the arena of political theory. Reinterpreting Rorty's much-maligned antirepresentationalism as a Romantic affirmation of the power of imaginative writing, Voparil firmly grounds Rorty in an American tradition that includes not only James and Dewey, but Emerson, Whitman, and James Baldwin, and initiates an overdue reassessment of this important thinker's value to the political discourse of the 21st century. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1989, with the publication of Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity, and in articles throughout the 1990s, Richard Rorty developed a detailed social and political philosophy that brings together core elements in liberalism, pragmatism, and postmodern, anti-foundationalist, philosophy. The Last Conceptual Revolution provides a critique both of Rorty's own provocative political philosophy, as well as an in-depth look at the issues concerning the relationship between the public and the private; between persuasion and force; and arguments about the role of reason in liberal political discourse generally. ... Read more

Book Description
Michael Bacon gives a critical presentation of Rorty's writings on pragmatism and political theory, comparing and contrasting him with pragmatists such as Hilary Putnam and Susan Haack, and liberals such as John Rawls and Brian Barry. The result is an imaginative presentation of one of contemporary philosophy's most innovative and important thinkers. ... Read more

Book Description
This brief text assists students in understanding Rorty's philosophy and thinking so that they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the "Wadsworth Philosophers Series," (which will eventually consist of approximately 100 titles, each focusing on a single "thinker" from ancient times to the present), ON RORTY is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher better enabling students to engage the reading and to discuss the material in class and on paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Get out your red pens
The first thing one wants to know when reading this book is whothe typesetter and the proofreader were. With at least two egregious typos per page, one gets the impression that one of them must have not been a native English speaker and the other must have doubled as a sportscaster in his freetime.

Once you've gone through this book, pen in hand, adding omitted letters and apostrophes and striking the maddeningly inconsistent double spacing after each period, you'll find a fine example of C-grade scholarship. It's about what you'd expect an above-average undergraduate senior to turn in as his final thesis. It gives an occasionally clear and lucid explanation of Rorty and the context in which he is writing. More often, though, Rumana seems quite simply confused. If Rumana is, in fact, an undergraduate, he can be quite proud of his philosophical ability. As it is, he's probably not, and (...)(at least for me), this book is a scam. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Sniggering into a raised fist
I am neither a humanities professor nor a cultural leftist per se, but I thoroughly enjoyed this pamphlet and feel slightly smarter having read it. The overall feeling is similar to having a few glasses of wine with an aged professor who indulges in a little cattiness and sectarian in jokes. Made me feel a little guilty about being an adjunct -- and inspired me to rent the documentary "Arguing the World." One to ponder.

Tough Guy Liberalism
This book is valuable if you are a Rorty fan and have followed his career. It is the best insight into his personality.Namely, his peeves and dislikes. For example although he is a staunch liberal, he strongly dislikes hand wringing extremists and nihilists.He really is a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps pragmatist. And if you push him too hard he pulls the gloves off. He is also a realist in the Aristotilean sense of he knows he is a well paid humanities professor living in an ivory tower (brownstone actually - Stanford) and that most of many of his (analytic) peers don't care for him.What I really like about Rorty, and this comes out clearly in this little book, is his attitude that the playing field has been leveled since Wittgenstein, Derrida, et.al. 'So hey, why not make the world a little better place than you found it?' (Kind of like what your Mom used to tell you.) What I don't like is his "blind eye" towards religion (as a friend who got his Ph.D. from him at Princeton once described him). But that's just the way it goes sometimes for some people.If you have read a lot of Rorty, get this book. If you haven't, then start where you are supposed to: Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature.

Big ideas in a little book!
Two earnest grad students take on a cantankerous professor during a 4-hour interview! The results are explosive!

One of the finest interviews on paperback
If you don't know who Richard Rorty is or what "Oligarchies" means, you will after reading this. "Six bucks". How can you go wrong? ... Read more

Book Description
This distinctive collection by scholars from around the world focuses upon the cultural, educational, and political significance of Richard Rorty's thought. The nine essays which comprise the collection examine a variety of related themes: Rorty's neopragmatism, his view of philosophy, his philosophy of education and culture, Rorty's comparison between Dewey and Foucault, his relation to postmodern theory, and, also his form of political liberalism. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Philosophy Education Society, Inc. on September 1, 2000. The length of the article is 5579 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: THE OBLIGATIONS OF IRONY: RORTY ON IRONY, AUTONOMY, AND CONTINGENCY.(Richard Rorty)(Critical Essay)
Author: John Owens
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2000
Publisher: Philosophy Education Society, Inc.
Volume: 54Issue: 1Page: 27

Article Type: Critical Essay

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Book Description
This volume comprises a number of letters between author Anindita Niyogi Balslev and philosopher Richard Rorty. The letters explore ways to generate a creative and critical crosscultural discourse not only by challenging stereotypes about cultures and subcultures in general and traditions of thought in particular, but by being careful not to abolish the common ground on which stereotypes can be addressed. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Progressive, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2007. The length of the article is 670 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Last word from Richard Rorty.(Q&A)(Excerpt)(In memoriam)
Author: Danny Postel
Publication: The Progressive (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 71Issue: 8Page: 15(1)

Article Type: Excerpt, In memoriam

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Dianoia, published by UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 3878 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: El debate Putnam-Rorty sobre la naturaleza de la justificación.(Hilary Putnam, Richard Rorty)
Author: Daniel Kalpokas
Publication: Dianoia (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Filosoficas
Volume: 48Issue: 51Page: 119(8)

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Book Description
For the Love of Perfection examines Richard Rorty's pragmatist philosophy for thinking about the aims and processes of liberal education. Offering a radical re-interpretation of the philosopher's arguments against metaphysics, René V. Arcilla demonstrates how Rorty's thinking may be re-envisioned to take greater account of today's multicultural society.

Arcilla begins by grounding his re-examination of Rorty's pragmatist arguments against metaphysics in the historical context of democratic liberal education: in the key debates between Robert M. Hutchins and John Dewey in the 1930s and 1940s; and in the writings of contemporary thinkers Stanley Cavell and Allan Bloom. Providing an arresting analysis of all of Rorty's work--close textual readings which are critical yet sympathetic--Arcilla documents how Rorty contributes to the tradition of democratic liberal education through "conversational edification," the educational and philosophical practice of developing one's selfhoodthrough conversation with others.

The latter part of For the Love of Perfection offers a controversial re-reading of the principal aims and reforms of a Rortyan education prompted by the multicultural direction of American society. Reconsidering the philosopher in light of more "radical" left thinkers, including Ernesto Laclau and Walter Benjamin, Arcilla demonstrates how Rorty's contribution to liberal education can deepen its pragmatist roots--something which Rorty considers vital--while reconciling perennial conflicts between educators on the right and left who argue that the metaphysical quest for self-knowledge and the democratic politics of multiculturalism are opposed endeavors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A NEW DIRECTION IN AMERICAN EDUCATION
EDUCATION AS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WHOLE SELF. A REMARKABLE NEW DIRECTIONIN AMERICAN EDUCATION ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Policy Review, published by Hoover Institution Press on April 1, 2000. The length of the article is 2720 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Richard Rorty, Liberal Absolutist.(Review) (book review)
Author: Damon Linker
Publication: Policy Review (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2000
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
Page: 81

Article Type: Book Review

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Humanitas, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 9273 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Richard Rorty's postmodern case for liberal democracy: a critique.
Author: George Bragues
Publication: Humanitas (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 19Issue: 1-2Page: 158(24)

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Book Description
This digital document is an article from Letras Libres, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1955 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Últimas palabras con Richard Rorty: el recién desaparecido filósofo Richard Rorty, empeñado en no desvincular el pensamiento de la realidad concreta, habla en su última entrevista acerca de Irán, el legado de Dewey, la guerra de Iraq y el peligro de las democracias de recortar libertades con la excusa de que luchan contra el terrorismo.(Obituario)
Author: Danny Postel
Publication: Letras Libres (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 9Issue: 104Page: 44(3)

Article Type: Obituario

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