Contingency, Irony, and SolidarityIn this book, major American philosopher Richard Rorty argues that thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein have enabled societies to see themselves as historical contingencies, rather than as expressions of underlying, ahistorical human nature, or as realizations of suprahistorical goals. This ironic perspective on the human condition is valuable but it cannot advance Liberalism's social and political goals. In fact, Rorty believes that it is literature and not philosophy that can do this, by promoting a genuine sense of human solidarity. Specifically, it is novelists such as Orwell and Nabokov who succeed in awakening us to the cruelty of particular social practices and individual attitudes. Thus, a truly liberal culture would fuse the private, individual freedom of the ironic, philosophical perspective with the public project of human solidarity as it is engendered through the insights and sensibilities of great writers. Rorty uses a wide range of references--from philosophy to social theory to literary criticism--to elucidate his beliefs. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - brleach - LibraryThingUltimately, I don't find Rorty's attempt to redescribe the world in new language to be terribly compelling. Since he provides no criteria for choosing between languages, it would seem that his failure ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - Carl_Hayes - LibraryThingObama's win inspired me to reread this book of pragmatic ideas, a favorite. Too bad Rorty didn't live to see his victory, not simply because our next President is an African American (which itself ... Read full review
Contents
The contingency of language | 3 |
The contingency of selfhood | 23 |
The contingency of a liberal community | 44 |
Private irony and liberal hope | 73 |
Selfcreation and affiliation Proust Nietzsche and Heidegger | 96 |
From ironist theory to private allusions Derrida | 122 |
The barber of Kasbeam Nabokov on cruelty | 141 |
The last intellectual in Europe Orwell on cruelty | 169 |
Solidarity | 189 |
| 199 | |
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Common terms and phrases
able answer attempt become belief better called cause Chapter claim common contingency contrast create criticism cruelty culture Derrida describe desire distinction equally example express fact figures final vocabulary Freud give going Habermas happened Hegel Heidegger hope human idea imagine important institutions intellectual interest ironist kind language liberal literary lives look matter means merely metaphors metaphysician metaphysics mind moral Nabokov nature never Nietzsche notion novel O'Brien offer once one's Orwell pain particular passage past person philosophers Plato poem poet political possible practices Press problem produce Proust question rational reality realize reason redescribing redescription relation seems sense shared simply social society solidarity sort speak suggestion tell theory thing thought tion traditional true truth turn University writing
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity Clark lectures Northcliffe lectures |
| Authors | Richard M. Rorty, Richard Rorty, Rorty Richard |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 1989 |
| ISBN | 0521367816, 9780521367813 |
| Length | 201 pages |
| Subjects | › Philosophy / General Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |