Philosophy Then and Now: A Re-Evaluation of Rorty’s Philosophical Pessimism
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This was a talk I was invited to give at a special session of the Richard Rorty Society by Dr. David Rondel. The main goal of the talk was to compare and contrast the metaphilosphies of Richard Rorty and Philip Kitcher, with the ultimate goal of showing that each has something to inform the other. In particular, each misses something of value the other catches. Rorty is ultimately overly skeptical of both formal philosophy, and both are overly skeptical of various politically motivated philosophical projects. However, Rorty’s views on this latter topic notably evolved in complex ways over time.