Consequences Of Pragmatism: Essays 1972-1980 [Paperback]

Richard Rorty (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press (October 18, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816610649
• ISBN-13: 978-0816610648
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Philosophy is time grasped in thought", September 20, 2007

By 

M. A. Krul (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Consequences Of Pragmatism: Essays 1972-1980 (Paperback)

Rorty has collected a selection from his vast number of essays under the title "Consequences of Pragmatism". Spanning the time range of his work from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, they represent Rorty's development and exposition of his views after he made the sudden turn from analytic philosophy to his anti-essentialist pragmatism. Many of the essays are meant to explain how his view contrasts with the tradition in philosophy he is arguing against, which he identifies as the Cartesian-Kantian one, as well as the analytic philosophical tradition he used to belong to. However, some of the later essays also serve to defend his views against some common criticisms. Also included are essays which compare his views with those of people working or having worked along similar 'counter-tradition' lines, such as of course his inspiration Dewey, but also Heidegger, Foucault, and Cavell.

The essays are well-written and generally not too difficult, so they should be an accessible summary of his philosophical views for the intellectual reader. Despite the sometimes rather dry subject-matter, such as reviewing the developments in 20th Century philosophy of language, Rorty applies humor and optimism to skilfully polemicize against this tradition. This leads to witty phrases and interesting observations such as: "taking how and what one does in bed as definitive of one's being seems a specifically masculine trait", "granted that Derrida is the latest and largest flower on the dialectical kudzu vine of which the 'Phenomenology of Spirit' was the first tendril, does that not merely show the need to uproot this creeping menace? Can we not all see (...) the need to strip the suckers of this parasitic climber from the still unfinished walls and roofs of the great Kantian edifice which it covers and conceals?" or "our tyrants and bandits are more hateful than those of earlier times because (...) they pose as intellectuals. Our tyrants write philosophy in the morning and torture in the afternoon; our bandits alternatively read Hölderlin and bomb people to bloody scraps".

Despite the repetition of the collection, unfortunately inherent due to the need for exposition of the same misunderstood theme over and over again, this kind of writing keeps it intriguing and insightful. And since Rorty is committed to seeing philosophy as similar to literature, this is serious praise.

3.0 out of 5 stars A hefty work for those with time to explore Pragmatism and modern philosophy., December 21, 2011

By 

Dionysius "Observer" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Consequences Of Pragmatism: Essays 1972-1980 (Paperback)

There is no way I can do justice in reviewing such a dense volume of work, however, it would be of interest and benefit to philosophy students and those interested in modern philosophical movements in particular. Rorty focuses on American philosophy, and especially "Pragmatism" in light of Hegel, Kant, Heidegger, and others. It is a little disconcerting that right from the start he states that he no longer agrees with some of the material, and one wonders whether it is worth investing hours of study and effort in understanding the material. Though by going through the essays readers would be assured of having a greater understanding of at least "Pragmatism", modern philosophy, and some of the main arguments for and against ideas from some of the big philosophers of the past.

15 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pragmatic Dogmatics, August 6, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Consequences Of Pragmatism: Essays 1972-1980 (Paperback)

Roty, the grand disciple of Dewey and the most articulate pragmatist, elucidates some of the most bothering aspects of pragmatism in this book. In some of these essays, however, one could not help but feel that Roty is over enthusiastic in pushing the pragamtism agenda: he sounds almost evangelistic. If pragmatism wishes to achieve the kind of ideal that Dewey and others like James and Pierce has set out to achieve, the ideal of a democratic capitalist society, such dogmatism may sound a little unwarranted.