On Philosophy and Philosophers is a volume of unpublished philosophical papers by Richard Rorty, a central figure in late-twentieth-century intellectual debates and a primary force behind the resurgence of American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.
By:
Richard Rorty
Edited by:
W. P. Małecki,
Chris Voparil
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 228mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9781108726368
ISBN 10: 1108726364
Pages: 260
Publication Date: 15 October 2020
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction. Rorty as a Critical Philosopher Wojciech Małecki and Christopher Voparil; Part I. Early Papers: 1. Philosophy as Ethics; 2. Philosophy as Spectatorship and Participation; 3. Kant as a Critical Philosopher; 4. The Paradox of Definitism; 5. Reductionism; 6. Phenomenology, Linguistic Analysis, and Cartesianism: Comments on Ricoeur; 7. The Incommunicability of 'Felt Qualities'; 8. Kripke on Mind-Body Identity; Part II. Later Papers: 9. Philosophy as Epistemology: Reply to Hacking and Kim; 10. Naturalized Epistemology and Norms: Replies to Goldman and Fodor; 11. The Objectivity of Values; 12. What is Dead in Plato; 13. The Current State of Philosophy in the U.S.; 14. Brandom's Conversationalism: Davidson and Making It Explicit; 15. Bald Naturalism and McDowell's Hylomorphism; 16. Reductionist vs. Neo-Wittgensteinian Semantics; 17. Remarks on Nishida and Nishitani.
Richard Rorty (1931–2007) was Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Literature at Stanford University, California. W. P. Małecki is Assistant Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Wrocław, Poland. Chris Voparil teaches political theory and philosophy at Union Institute & University, Cincinnati.
Reviews for On Philosophy and Philosophers: Unpublished Papers, 1960–2000
'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
