Richard Rorty

“Anti-white,” “anti-Catholic,” obscene and blasphemous, “centered around negative activity,” “defamatory to minorities, God, women, and the disabled,” or simply a “filthy, filthy book” and “trash”: This is only a brief list of reasons forwarded by various school boards, concerned parents, and other watchful spirits across the United States who were – and still are – opposed to including The Catcher in the Rye in High School or College reading lists. Holden Caulfield has thus met a fate comparable to James Joyce’s "Ulysses" and D.H. Lawrence’s "Lady Chatterley’s Lover," being at once contested and cherished, cursed and hailed.

This essay sheds light on the legitimacy of such a book ban, yet from a classic philosopher’s perspective. In his vision of the ideal republic, Plato had not only dealt with the question of the best ruler or the principles of the community, but he also contemplated the role of the arts and artists for society. Thereby, he shared the concern of the contemporary censors in that he likewise wanted to protect children from indecency, specifically if transmitted by artists, and suggested that art should benefit the state and the individual. "Would The Catcher in the Rye" thus be banned from the ideal republic?

The answer to the above question shall not, however, rest with Plato alone. Contemporary thinkers and philosophers such as Richard Rorty and Martha C. Nussbaum have likewise reflected on the role of art and literature in the education of good citizens. Their ideas ultimately lead to the question whether modern democratic societies might not actually require allegedly offensive art and literature as a test to their own principles.

"Baruchello’s Philosophy of Cruelty, the second collection of his essays, turns a difficult and emotionally charged topic into a surprisingly informative and enlightening read. Covering the history of Western philosophy’s treatment of cruelty as a topic, yet relating every point to present-day occasions of violence and injustice, this book is a touchstone for any discussion of cruelty as a philosophical theme. It pulls no punches, yet it leaves you standing taller." (Dr. B. Myers)

(cf. https://www.brendanmyers.net/nwpbooks/baruchello2.html - incl. table of contents; the book can be ordered from Amazon or the publisher)

Please note that all author's royalties are devolved to charity.

Enclosed is the syllabus and course notes from the upper division course I teach in PostModernism and Post-Marxist Critical Theory. It occurs to me that some of these essays--ranging from Horkheimer and Adorno, Baudrillard, Foucault, and the feminist post-modern theorist Donna Haraway may offer some insight and some tools for comprehending the dark times in which we live. While these essays may not be directly aimed at understanding the rise of phenomena like the Alt-Right, toxic masculinity, and particularly violent forms of patriarchy, I think they can show us something about the ideological trends that set us on out current morally troubling path.

Required texts:

Friedrich Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morality
Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialism is a Humanism
Martin Heidegger: texts to be provided.
Peter Sloterdijk: texts to be provided.
Dominique Janicaud: On the Human Condition
Richard Rorty: Philosophy and Social Hope
Thomas Kuhn: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

This paper serves both to summarize Haack's arguments against the various forms of postmodernist cynicism in MANIFESTO OF A PASSIONATE MODERATE (1998) and to introduce ideas on philosophy of science she will develop in detail in DEFENDING SCIENCE---WITHIN REASON (2003).

[EN] This article argues that Rorty's philosophy of mind is possible as a metaphilosophical project. It trespasses the limits of physicalism and yet opposes philosophical scholasticism. Rorty's physicalism is grounded on a metaphilosophical motivation and aims to show that physical descriptions protect against unjustified pretensions to a transcendentally engaged, considered to be objective, universally applicable knowing. while defending Rorty's eliminativism from criticism aimed at his presupposed scientism, the article discusses the possibility of "mind" as an empty concept. the article concludes that, in the context of Rorty's philosophy, the concept of mind should be considered as idealistic and naturalistic, not indicating any concrete content and therefore immune to materialistic criticism. However, despite the physical vocabulary aimed at expanding the problematics of mind, the full self-knowledge at which the scientific knowledge is aimed is unachieved. This leaves space for philosophical, theological and other descriptions of mind.

[LT] Šiame straipsnyje teigiama, kad Rorty sąmonės filosofija įmanoma kaip metafilosofinis projektas, pranoks-tantis fizikalizmo ribas ir oponuojantis filosofinei scholastikai. Įrodinėjama, kad Rorty fizikalizmą grindžia metafilosofinė motyvacija – siekis parodyti, kad fizikinės deskripcijos apsaugo nuo nepamatuotos preten-zijos į transcendentiškai angažuotą, neva objektyvų ir universaliai taikomą žinojimą. svarstoma " sąmonės " , kaip tuščios koncepcijos, galimybė, kartu ginant Rorty eliminatyvizmą nuo kritikos dėl neva esančio pasi-davimo scientizmui. Prieinama išvada, kad Rorty filosofijos kontekste sąmonės koncepcija laikytina idea-listų ir natūralistų konstrukcija, nenurodančia jokio konkretaus turinio, todėl neatlaikančia materialistų kritikos. Vis dėlto net ir pasitelkus fizikinį žodyną sąmonės problematikai išskleisti, ši išsklaida nesuteikia visiško savęs pažinimo, į kurį galėtų pretenduoti mokslinis žinojimas – tam padeda filosofinės, teologinės ir kitokios deskripcijos.

Resumo: Este artigo é uma breve apresentação de "O desenvolvimento do pragmatismo americano", de John Dewey, cuja tradução é publicada neste presente número de COGNITIO-ESTUDOS. Trata-se de mostrar como Dewey interpreta a história do pragmatismo como corrente filosófica nascida nos EUA, com as idéias de Peirce sobre o método científico e a significação conceitual, passando pela reinterpretação das idéias de Peirce feita por James, que transformou o pragmatismo numa teoria da ação e da verdade. Dewey afirma se filiar a essa corrente numa linha de continuidade, embora não sem algumas diferenças, ao defender que seu instrumentalismo é uma conseqüência da ampliação do pragmatismo operada por James. Palavras-chave: John Dewey. Charles S. Peirce. William James. Pragmatismo. Crença. Instrumentalismo.

This paper serves both as a kind of summary of Haack's arguments against the various styles of postmodernism cynicism about inquiry, evidence. truth, and reality, and as an anticipate=ion of the ideas developed in detail in her DEFENDING SCIENCE---WITHIN REASON (2003).

I dette paperet vil jeg ta for meg Hans-Georg Gadamers filosofiske hermeneutikk, og se den i forhold til Richard Rortys utlegning av hermeneutikken som "edification". Dette gjør jeg ved å først ta for meg noen trekk ved Gadamers prosjekt slik det framstår i Warheit und Metode, og deretter vil jeg se på den bruk som Rorty gjør av Gadamers hermeneutikk slik det kommer til uttrykk i Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. 2 Gadamers forsøk på å grunnlegge forståelsen som menneskets måte å vaere i verden på vil dermed settes i sammenheng med Rortys forsøk på å overskride forståelse som representasjon eller speilbilde av virkeligheten.

Er(r)go …,
anglistycznie, czyli zanurzamy się we własne źródło – „Er(r)go” bowiem z anglistyki się wyłoniło – a potem podążamy odnogami, dopływami, odpływami. A więc świadectwa intelektualnych nastrojów z czasów wczesnego naporu cultural studies;  z jednej strony kiedyś owoc zakazany, z drugiej strachy i obawy: a to utrata tożsamości literaturoznawczej  i kulturowej , a to marksizm niebezpieczny, a to zagubienie wartości estetycznych i rozmycie w egalitaryzmie. I problem zbliżony: jaka jest rola anglistów – fachowców od propagowania obcej kultury i obcego języka – wobec tożsamości językowej narodu? Zatapiają ten ojczyźniany statek (to Sienkiewicz) dopompowując językowe skażenia zamiast je wypompowywać, czy też pomagają mu się utrzymać na burzliwych falach przemian? Ambiwalentny zatem mit anglisty.  Anglista w Polsce jako Robinson Crusoe na wyspie zarosłej różnymi kontekstami, polskimi i niepolskimi? I oczywiście problemy przekładu. Tłumacz jako element trzeci – pośrednik między dwoma rzeczywistościami, które zapośredniczeniu się nie poddają; subiektywność w translacji i tłumacza skok wiary.

Desubiektywizacja i przemysł tłumaczeniowy; masowe oszustwo. I co tu czytać, skoro błazny i łotry tworzą listy lektur. Zatem fundamentalna kwestia kanonu: równo czy elitarnie? Kanon jako fundament i emanacja tożsamości. Precz zatem z Martwymi Białymi Europejskimi Mężczyznami! Ale czy Zulusi dadzą nam Tołstoja? Jest przynajmniej pornologia Markiza de Sade’a, a poza tym „nicość, puste miejsce niemożliwości identyfikacji”. Ratunkiem edukacja humanistyczna? Ale jaka? Prawicowa, czyli poszukiwanie jednej prawdy, czy lewicowa, czyli kształcenie niezależności intelektualnej. I tu anglista odwołuje się do Rorty’ego i idzie ze sobą na kompromis, choć nie bez wahań, tarć i polemik. Angielski łaciną dnia dzisiejszego?

Numer ten został przygotowany pod opieką Leszka Dronga.

Wojciech Kalaga


Er(r)go …,
on English studies. And so we submerge into our own spring—since Er(r)go emerged from English studies—and then we follow the arms, the tributaries, the tides. Thus the substantiation of the intellectual mood of the times of the early onset of cultural studies; on the one hand, once a forbidden fruit, on the other, anxieties and fears: it could mean the loss of cultural identity and identity of literary studies; could mean dangerous Marxism, could mean losing aesthetic values and diffusion in egalitarianism. And  a related problem: what is the role of English philologists—professionals in promoting foreign culture and foreign language—towards linguistic identity of their nation? Are they sinking the national ship (that’s Sienkiewicz) pumping in linguistic contamination instead of pumping it out, or are they helping the ship to stay afloat on the stormy seas of change? Thus, the ambivalent myth of the English philologist. The English philologist as Robinson Crusoe on an island overgrown with different contexts, Polish and not Polish. And, of course, the problems of translation. The translator as the third element—the mediator between two realities, which do not yield to mediation; subjectivity in translation and the translator’s leap of faith.

Desubjectification and the translation industry; a mass fraud. What is there to read, if fools and rogues create reading lists? Thus the fundamental question of canon: equality or elitism? The canon as the foundation and the emanation of identify. Thus away with Dead White European Males! But will the Zulu give us Tolstoy? At least there remains Marquise de Sade’s pornology, but apart from that “nothing, an empty space of the impossibility of identification.” Humanist education as possible salvation? But of what kind? Right-winged, or the search for the only truth, or left-winged, the shaping of intellectual independence? And here the English philologist calls upon Rorty and chooses a compromise, albeit not without hesitations, tensions and polemics. English as Latin of today?

The present issue was prepared under the supervision of Leszek Drong

Wojciech Kalaga

In seiner Kritik der Moralphilosophie der westlichen Tradition gab sich Richard Rorty als humaner, engagierter Aufklärer. Gleichgültig, ob ontologisch, mentalistisch oder linguistisch argumentiert worden sei: Platon, Kant und Habermas hätten auf je verschiedenem Wege behauptet, sie könnten aus der Vernunftbegabung, einem zureichendem Differenzkriterium, Fundamente für moralische Prinzipien ableiten. Das habe Varianten des sittlichen Universalismus hervorgebracht, die heute ein für allemal passé seien. Aus der Perspektive der kritischen Theorie wird im vorliegenden Paper gezeigt, was dabei verloren geht.

Na pozadí Rortyho úvah o metafyzice a ironii, normálním a abnormálním diskursu či o revolučních výkonech v politickém uspořádání nebo ve vědě, jež je důsledkem proměn slovníku (chápaném v holistickém a instrumentálním pojetí), studie reflektuje Mukařovského poválečné myšlení nikoli z (tradiční) perspektivy zavržení jeho strukturalistického slovníku, ale z perspektivy budování slovníku nového, marxleninského. Soustředí se na Mukařovského revizi literárněvědné terminologie, která je nejprve nominalistickým úsilím o rozvržení nového smyslu pojmů v intencích dialektického marxismu, brzy však spíše metafyzickým bojem za poznanou Pravdu. V následující části se zabývá Mukařovského úsilím o budování slovníku nového, osnovaného kolem nových pojmů, jako je světový názor, stranickost, lidovost ad. V závěrečné části si pak všímá Mukařovkého pozdějšího konceptu individuálního slohu, které interpretuje jako ironické, subverzivní gesto, jež mohlo přispět k diskreditaci marx-leninské estetiky a úsilí jeho žáků o rehabilitaci strukturalismu.

There are numerous existing political atheologies that can be characterised by three movements – negative, positive, and critical atheological projects. By focusing on the critical atheologies of two political theorists, Richard Rorty and William Connolly, this article presents an insider's view of the influence that atheism has on political thought. After drawing out just what makes Rorty and Connolly's philosophies atheological, this article sets itself the task of drawing the consequences of a critical atheology for two fundamental concepts of contemporary political theory: secularism and toleration. These Enlightenment ideals can be rescued and re-framed following a pluralist critique. By refining our understanding of secularism beyond a strict church-state separation, an agonistic secularism which promotes an ethos of engagement is defended therein. Secondly, toleration is then defended in its agonistic form to include the practice of critique against conceptions of indifference or respect. Finally, the hard case of the French ban on veils in public schools is discussed to highlight the contribution of this political atheology to an important social issue.

Resumen: Richard Rorty, uno de los autores más influyentes en la actualidad,
elabora una crítica al concepto filosófico de verdad como correspondencia. La conclusión del neopragmatismo de Rorty es que la idea de la verdad como correspondencia entre el lenguaje y los hechos no puede hacerse efectiva porque ya no funciona. La concepción neopragmatista de la verdad señala los únicos usos del término verdadero, centrándose en la idea de la justificación. En este trabajo se presenta la concepción neopragmatista de la verdad, para analizar la propia consistencia interna del neopragmatismo respecto a la noción filosófica de verdad.

Abstract: Richard Rorty, one of the most influential authors of our time, presents
a critique of the philosophical concept of truth as correspondence. The conclusion of
Rorty’s neopragmatism is that the idea of truth as correspondence between language and facts is ineffective because it no longer works. The neopragmatist conception of truth indicates the only possible uses for the term «truthful,» revolving around the idea of justification. In this article, the neopragmatist notion of truth is presented in order to analyse neopragmatism’s own internal consistency with respect to the philosophical notion of truth.

This book bridges a gap between discussions about truth, human understanding, and epistemology in philosophical circles, and debates about objectivity, bias, and truth in journalism. It examines four major philosophical theories in easy to understand terms while maintaining a critical insight which is fundamental to the contemporary study of journalism. The book aims to move forward the discussion of truth in the news media by dissecting commonly used concepts such as bias, objectivity, balance, fairness, in a philosophically-grounded way, drawing on in depth interviews with journalists to explore how journalists talk about truth.

For the Routledge Research in Journalism Series.

Da Pirrone a Rorty, passando per Socrate, Carneade, Cicerone, Giovanni di Salisbury, Guicciardini, Montaigne, Sorbière, Pascal, Bayle, Hume, Nietzsche, Russell, Rensi, Oakeshott e Popper: il volume offre per la prima volta un quadro completo della storia dello scetticismo politico, rappresentato da alcune delle figure intellettuali più influenti del pensiero occidentale ma ritenute politicamente “scomode” per la loro incessante critica alle ideologie, ai dogmatismi dei partiti, ai paradigmi normativi e ai mezzi di persuasione diversi da quelli improntati al buon senso, alla prudenza e alla moderazione. L’autore dimostra che a unire tutti gli scettici politici è uno “stile” che privilegia il saggio al trattato, l’ipotesi alla certezza infallibile, il pluralismo al monismo, la verità conversazionale alla soluzione finale. Benché quasi tutti siano stati additati dai loro contemporanei come infedeli, reprobi, esiliati e gretti, le loro posizioni si sono rivelate essenziali non solo per la teoria politica in senso proprio, ma anche per l’affermazione di idee “altre” di libertà, tolleranza e convivenza civile.

For historical memory, here is an article by Christopher Hayes, in his Chicago days, covering the Brennan Lecture I organized when I was at Loyola University in Chicago.  On November 22, 2002, Habermas and Rorty held public dialogue on "Rationality and Universalism."

The notion of post-truth politics has been insufficiently conceptualized, leaving its empirical viability questionable. As a response to this uncertainty, I seek to elaborate a concept of post-truth politics by comparing facts to public infrastructure, which I understand in an Arendtian fashion: as a condition that both limits and enables opinionated debate. I put forward an understanding of post-truth as a two-sided process brought about by mutually dependent structural factors contributing to the irrelevance of factual truths and a particular political style labelled careless speech. I place post-truth in a historical context and seek to distinguish it, particularly, from Harry Frankfurt’s ‘bullshit’. Bullshit works within the mindset of carefully crafted advertisement-speak. Careless speech seeks to create confusion and bring democratic debate to a halt. I also explicate some key economic, cultural, and media-related factors that contribute to the emergence of post-truth politics. The third section discusses effective practices of conveying truth in the public sphere. I critically analyze fact-checking, (Foucauldian) fearless speech (parrhesia) and storytelling, contrasting them to ‘careless speech’, and emphasize the need to address political structures in addition to more epistemologically-oriented solutions. I conclude with reflections on the economic-cultural background to factual infrastructure’s disrepair, and highlight some future lines of inquiry in IR and Political Science.

Susan Haack, “Justice, Truth, and Proof: Not So Simple, After All”

Background: This paper was written for a conference in Girona, Spain, on the work of Italian legal scholar Michele Taruffo—who is celebrated by the evidence group at the University of Girona for his defense of the so-called “rationalist conception of proof.” My paper is in part an attempt to disentangle the many elements that seem to be run together in that conception, and figure out which are defensible, and which not; and at the same time to suggest that his broad comparisons of common-law vs. civil-law evidentiary procedures require much closer attention to the details of how these work in practice. So it is a kind of conversation with Taruffo (and with other legal theorists in Spain, Colombia, Brazil, etc. who share these ideas).

Abstract: Preamble: Substantive justice requires factual truth. So if legal proof-procedures are to be more than judicial theater, they must be capable of arriving, often enough, at factually correct verdicts. 

§1. The very possibility of substantive justice requires:
• that there be such a thing as factual truth;
• which is objective (not a matter of what anyone, or everyone, believes;
• that it is often enough possible for us to figure out, at least fallibly, what the truth of a disputed factual matter in is;
• which in turn requires that there be objective standards of stronger and weaker evidence;
• and that the fact that evidence is, by these standards, good, be at least a fallible indication that it is likely true.

The truth of these presuppositions is defended by reference to the laconicist understanding of truth, and the foundherentist account of the structure and quality of evidence.

§2: It remains an open question, however, whether these or those evidentiary procedures are capable arriving, often enough, at true verdicts. 

POWERPOINTS TO ACCOMPANY THIS PAPER ARE AVAILABLE IN THE SECTION LABELED “SELECTED PRESENTATIONS” BELOW (UNDER “MORE”). A LINK TO A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF HAACK GIVING THIS PRESENTATION CAN BE FOUND UNDER “LINKS” IN THAT SECTION

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John E. Smith argued that there were almost as many pragmatisms as pragmatists. Almost all pragmatists criticized abstractive and reductive reasoning in the modern academy, but most entertained different visions of how and to what end academic reasoning should be repaired. Smith's vision was shaped by his strong preference for the classical pragmatisms of Peirce, Dewey, James and also Royce, whose differences contributed to the inner dynamism of Smith's pragmatism. Smith was far less impressed with the virtues of neo-pragmatists who rejected key tenets of the classical vision. My goal in this brief essay is to outline a partial list of these tenets, drawing on Smith's writings and those of a sample of recent pragmatists who share his commitment to the classical vision, such as Richard Bernstein, John Deely, and Doug Anderson. I restate the tenets in the terms of a pragmatic semeiotic, which applies Peirce's semeiotic to classical doctrines of habit-change and reparative inquiry. I conclude by adopting the tenets as signs of pragmatism's elemental beliefs. Consistent with Peirce's account of "original" beliefs, these are not discrete claims about the world or well-defined rational principles but a loose and dynamic network of habits. The habits grow, change, inter-mix or self-segregate through the run of intellectual and social history. They can be distinguished but only imprecisely, described but only vaguely, encountered per se only through their effects. Among these effects are sub-communities of pragmatic inquiry, sub-networks of habits, and existentially marked series of social actions and streams of written and spoken words: including context-specific, determinate claims about the world, about other claims, and about habits of inquiry like pragmatism. Among these claims are my way of stating of the tenets and my arguments about the history of pragmatism. Such claims are determinate, but the habits and tenets of pragmatism are not.

THIS IS PART II OF A TWO PART PUBLICATION

While an emerging group of scholars has made productive inroads investigating emotion’s role in politics, the way in which scholars face these emotions remains an issue in need of updated study. While no article can provide definitive conclusions on such a topic, the current effort posits one narrative device that IR scholars might utilise in order to cope with the realities of politics – irony. Irony is useful in that it allows us a ‘critical distance’ from our subject without requiring us to abandon our emotions. The article briefly reviews several scholarly positions or practices, from objectivism to verstehen, which confront, quarantine or accommodate scholarly emotionality in varied ways, before articulating the benefits of irony. It proposes two forms of ironical study drawn, respectively, from the work of Reinhold Niebuhr and Richard Rorty.

In diesem Buch wird Hegels Phänomenologie des Geistes als ein literarischer Text gedeutet, der seine Überzeugungskraft aus der Lektüre anderer Texte schöpft. Untersucht werden die politischen und ästhetischen Konsequenzen dieser Interpretation. Das dialektische Philosophieren ist ein Bedürfnis, die vergangenen Gedankensysteme – die Texte – in ihrer eigenen Logik als mangelhafte aufzuweisen und zu überwinden, um dadurch die letzte spekulative Synthese zu etablieren. Aber dieselbe Operation macht – so die Hauptthese des Buches – das Spekulative selbst verwundbar, das damit in seiner unselbständigen Verfassung und in seinem Scheitern aufgewiesen wird. Die im Buch dargestellten Gesten des Anleihens und der Affinität sind nicht nur für Hegels Stil prägend. Sie können auch das Dialektische selber neu bestimmen – als eine verschwindende, fast unmögliche Stimme, eine Bemühung, aus der Verschränkung unvereinbarer, konfligierender Diskurse einen Sinn zu gewinnen.

I volumi di questa collana sono sottoposti a un sistema di double blind referee LA FORMAZIONE E IL "CARATTERE PRATICO DELLA REALTÀ" Scenari e contesti di una pedagogia in situazione a cura di Enricomaria Corbi, Pascal Perillo Indice Presentazione Mai smettere di farsi domende: muoversi nella realtà Patrizia de Mennato 7 Introduzione Per una pedagogia in situazione: prospettive di indagine Enricomaria Corbi, Pascal Perillo 13 PARTE I L'eredità pedagogica del pragmatismo e il superamento della logica dicotomica in educazione. Il dialogo possibile tra realismo e costruttivismo Enricomaria Corbi Dal "Dewey ipotetico" al "Dewey reale" 23 Pascal Perillo L'approccio educativo transazionale 33 Vincenzo Sarracino Realtà Democrazia Partecipazione. Termini a confronto per la costruzione di un modello deweyano di comunità educativa 47 Giuseppe Spadafora La filosofia come teoria generale dell'educazione per costruire la democrazia 67 Ramón del Castillo L'illusione dell'educazione. Richard Rorty e la crudeltà, di nuovo 85 Stefano Oliverio L'esperienza del reale. L'educazione e il problema della verità 125 PARTE II Le pratiche educative professionali. Prospettive e dispositivi di ricerca e formazione Luigi Pati La mediazione educativa per la composizione pedagogica tra realismo e costruttivismo 155 Loretta Fabbri La formazione situata. Dispositivi per conoscere e coltivare gli apprendimenti informali 169 Bruno Rossi Costruzione e sviluppo della professionalità. Il potere formativo della pratica 185 Domenico Simeone La supervisione nelle professioni educative: uno spazio per apprendere dall'esperienza 203 Claudio Melacarne, Valentina Mucciarelli La progettazione educativa tra significati e materialità 219 Monica Amadini Tra mondo reale e mondi possibili: la progettazione partecipata come dispositivo formativo 239 Pascal Perillo La pratica educativa professionale. Azione e ricerca nella formazione degli educatori 253 85

In this book, I argue that black atheists reject belief in God more for political than epistemological reasons.  The God-concept was frequently used as an ideological instrument for subjugating and violating blacks.  Therefore, to make a more just polity possible, atheism is a political must.  Included here is the introduction to the book.

Praca podejmuje temat antyklerykalizmu Richarda Rorty’ego. Swój postulat prywatyzacji religii filozof ten uzasadnia interesem politycznym wspólnoty. W jego przekonaniu religia stanowi zagrożenie dla demokracji, ponieważ opiera się na wytwarzaniu zobowiązania jedynie wobec czegoś transcendentnego. Amerykański neopragmatysta przypisuje osobom religijnym skłonność do przerywania dyskusji, nietolerancji i zaniedbywania dobra wspólnego w imię posłuszeństwa wobec woli Boga. Zarzuty te zostają poddane krytycznej analizie. Ponadto omówiona zostaje Rortiańska utopia społeczna, nosząca znamiona religii obywatelskiej. Celem pracy jest ukazanie idiosynkratycznego wymiaru antyklerykalnej postawy Rorty’ego. Ponadto, rozprawa przedstawia możliwą wizję religii, która byłaby zgodna z pragmatystycznymi założeniami.

***

The dissertation concentrates on Richard Rorty’s anticlericalism. Rorty justifies his postulate to privatize religion by pointing out that religion may work against the political interest of the community. He claims that religion poses a threat to democracy, because it generates responsibilities only towards transcendence. The American neopragmatist calls religion a conversation-stopper. He claims that religious people are inclined to intolerance and negligence of the common good in the name of God’s will. These accusations are critically analysed. The master’s thesis discusses also Rortian social utopia which bears the marks of civil religion. The aim of the dissertation is to picture Rorty’s anticlerical attitude as to some extent idiosyncratic. Furthermore, the master’s thesis sketches the possible vision of religion that may be compatible with the pragmatic standpoint.

The paper discusses the relation between Luigi Pirandello's L'umorismo and Umberto Eco's and Richard Rorty's diverging versions of irony. The article highlights genealogical, as well as rhizomatic relations between modernist humour and postmodernist irony. By tracing one of its roots in Pirandello's text, the paper aims to problematise the often over-simplified notion of postmodernist irony as meaningless playfulness and detachment.

What if one could use Jesus to undo all (or at least much) of what's been done to secure Christianity's fate? Let's see what that might look like.

This is the third chapter in a project begun way back when Wheaton College was encouraging thoughtful dissent from mainstream Christianity. Those days are over, so this relic of a piece was once entertained (even celebrated) but now is consigned to the dustbin of professors with contract buyouts and non-disclosure agreements. Yes, that's a very common part of the discretionary administration of Wheaton College... and it's an interesting story in itself.

"“Richard Rorty was a much–admired and controversial philosopher, but why is he admired, and why is he controversial? Neil Gascoigne’s readable and interesting book answers both of these questions. Gascoigne writes with clarity and style, and shows a deep knowledge of Rorty’s writings and the motivations behind them. Anyone who wants to understand Rorty’s ideas as a whole, and their significance, should read this book. Highly recommended.”
Tim Crane, University College London

“This is an excellent––and, indeed, timely––book which substantially furthers our understanding of one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century.”
Duncan Pritchard, University of Edinburgh

“Rorty’s neopragmatism is often presented as a sequence of slogans about mind, language, truth, solidarity, and the nature of philosophy. In this important new book, Neil Gascoigne looks beyond the catch phrases and provides a compelling account of Rorty’s philosophy, from his early work in philosophy of mind to his last writings on social hope. The Rorty that emerges is a far more formidable and systematic philosopher than one might expect.”
Robert Talisse, Vanderbilt University

"

Este ensayo de Richard Rorty se erige sobre la base de una tesis fundamental: que Spinoza inauguró una tradición filosófica que eventualmente culminaría en el pragmatismo. La superación del dualismo cartesiano por medio de una noción del cuerpo y la mente como partes de una misma unidad permite un cierto entendimiento del mundo que finalmente nos permite preguntarnos ¿cuál es la naturaleza de la verdad?

Er(r)go...
nieodzowność inaugurującego słowa, które z konieczności antycypuje przyszłość, ale i nieuchronnie wiąże nas z przeszłością.

Przestrzeń ergo istniała zawsze (zważywszy komplikacje świata, może to słowo właśnie było pierwszym wypowiedzianym przez demiurga). Inaczej niż oraz, także, i, pomiędzy — ergo ustanawia przestrzeń złożoną, pogmatwaną, pełną fałdów, nisz i zakoli, w których myśl zmuszona zostaje do transformacji, i z których wychodząc, często nie rozpoznaje już w sobie samej siebie. jak pisze Andrzej Chojecki (wybiegamy tym cytatem w przyszłość — do drugiego numeru pisma), w przestrzeni ergo ,,dochodzi do najbardziej zadziwiających zestawień, utożsamień i rozróżnień. Tu może dojść do karkołomnych, zupełnie nieoczekiwanych związków, tutaj też odbywają się najdramatyczniejsze zerwania. Wszystko, co oczywiste może powstawać w obszarze ergo, tutaj też wszystko może być skazane na niebyt, na nieoczywistość."

Przestrzeń "Er(r)go" wyłoniła się przed dwudziestu laty — kiedy interdyscyplinarne seminarium o tej samej nazwie rozpoczęło swe spotkania, by kontynuować je przez kolejnych niemal piętnaście lat. Przewinęło się przez nią wiele osób, wiele głosów i wiele tekstów. "Er(r)go. Teoria — Literatura — Kultura" otwiera ową przestrzeń na powrót, choć już bez tamtej niewinności początków. Pomostem ciągłości (nostalgicznym, przyznaję) są tu szkice Tadeusza Rachwała i Tadeusza Sławka. We wspólnym obszarze łączą się z głosami płynącymi z różnorodnych obszarów humanistyki — nestora nauki Stefana Morawskiego, Agaty Bielik-Robson, Ewy Domańskiej, Ewy Rewers, Krystyny Wilkoszewskiej. Dołączają do nich — często w dyskusji lub polemice — głosy przywołane lub udostępnione przekładem: Blake, Barthes, Bauman, Derrida, Heidegger, Levinas, Rorty, by wymienić kilka jedynie.

Przestrzeń "Er(r)go" wchłania ergo, ale wzbogaca je o świadomość Teorii, potrzebę refleksji i autorefleksji teoretycznej, krytyki, podawania w wątpliwość nawet najjaśniejszych kategorii, ustawicznego kwestionowania własnych presupozycji, aksjomatów i kryteriów. Jest to z założenia — i z metodologicznego przekonania — przestrzeń interdyscyplinarna; jest zatem gościnna, ale stawia wymogi: niwelowanie ślepych granic między dziedzinami wiedzy i nauki, dialog dyskursów i paradygmatów, słuchanie głosu Innego. Dopiero spełnienie tych warunków pozwala dostrzec związki i zjawiska niedostrzegalne dla myślenia monodyscyplinamego, dla bezrefleksyjnej binamości czy zadufanej w sobie pewności trwania i oczywistości.

Wojciech Kalaga

The history of the reception of Richard Rorty´s work in Argentina can not be told without referring to Eduardo Rabossi and Alicia Páez, who must be considered as the first Argentine Rortians. Rabossi was one of the most important analytical philosophers in Latin America. Páez was a philosopher primarily educated in French thought who prematurely died at the beginning of the Nineties. I will show that the fact that it is possible to tell a story with two so different leading characters is part of what I will call " the Rortian Effect, " which is the opening to the possibility for a critical dialogue between philosophical traditions.

La historia de la recepción de la obra de Richard Rorty en la Argentina no puede contarse sin hacer referencia a Eduardo Rabossi y Alicia Páez, quienes deben ser considerados como los primeros Rortianos en dicho país. Rabossi fue uno de los más importantes filósofos analíticos de Latinoamérica. Páez fue una filósofa principalmente formada en el pensamiento francés que falleció prematuramente a principos de los´90. Argumentaré que el que sea posible contar una historia que tenga a estas figuras tan dispares como protagonistas es parte de lo que llamaré " Efecto Rorty, " esto es, la apertura de la posibilidad de un diálogo crítico entre tradiciones filosóficas.

Não se pode contar a história da recepção da obra de Richard Rorty na Argentina sem fazer referência a Eduardo Rabossi e Alicia Páez, que devem ser considerados como os primeiros rortyanos desse país. Rabossi foi um dos mais importantes filósofos analíticos da América Latina. Páez foi uma filósofa que se formou pricipalmente no pensamento francês, tendo falecido prematuramente no começo dos anos 90. Argumentarei que o fato de que se pode contar uma história que tem essas figuras tão díspares como protagonistas é parte do que chamarei "Efeito Rorty," isto é, a abertura da possibilidade de um diálogo crítico entre tradições filosóficas. __________________________________________________________ When I took the decision of writing about the reception of Rorty´s work in Argentina, I feared that my paper might simply develop into an exercise of unchained narcissism. My first reaction was to think that I had to expose some considerations about my own philosophical development, and about the texts of two friends of mine,

Dissertação apresentada ao Curso de Mestrado em Filosofia da Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas da UFMG. Linha de Pesquisa: Lógica e Filosofia da Ciência. Orientador: Paulo Roberto Margutti Pinto. 2005.

The present thesis aims to investigate Perelman`s proposal of a New Rhetoric and, by doing so, it intends to achieve a better understanding of philosophical discourse. The most important objectives of this work are: defining the fundamental concepts and distinctions of a new theory of argumentation; investigating the specificity of philosophical argumentation – through the clarification of the concept of universal audience -; and finally analyzing the relationship between persuading and convincing and between contextualism and universalism – establishing, therefore, the Perelman’s place in the contemporary debate concerning argumentation. It is pointed out the closeness between Perelman`s and Habermas`s thoughts, as well as the distance between Perelman`s thinking and Rorty`s and Apel`s. It is shown how, depending of the point of view – if it is internal or external to the audience -, philosophy can be regarded as a discourse bounded by a given context or, on the other hand, as an open argumentation aiming at the universal.

Resumo:
O artigo investiga as transformações na abordagem que Umberto Eco dá a questão da interpretação na trajetória entre a Obra Aberta, na década de 60, para a ênfase nos limites interpretativos, a partir de meados dos anos 70.Nesta trajetória, o mago de Bolonha, parte de uma perspectiva fundada em Tomas de Aquino, dialogando com James Joyce, as vanguardas musicais, os estruturalismo e a semiótica de Peirce. O artigo mostra também como a perspectiva pragmática que Eco herda de Peirce formularia uma "metafísica detetivesca" centrada no conceito de abdução. O desenvolvimento do giro pragmático efetuado por Eco se distinguiria de modo forte da perspectiva neopragmatista de Richard Rorty.
Palavras-chave: Interpretação, Pragmatismo, Semiótica, Eco, Neopragmatismo


Abstract:
This paper investigates the changes in Umberto Eco's approaches about the subject of the interpretation in the 60's, beginning with Open Work, culminating at the emphasis in the limits of interpretation, up to the mid 70's. The wizard of Bologna uses in his analyses the ideas from Thomas Aquinas, James Joyce, avant-garde music, structuralism and the semiotics of Peirce. This article also shows how the pragmatic approach that Eco inherits from Peirce would help him formulate an "investigator metaphysics" centered on the concept of abduction. The development of the pragmatist turn made by Eco differs strongly from Richard Rorty´s neo-pragmatism.
Keywords: Interpretation, Pragmatism, Semiotics, Eco, Neo-pragmatism

This class, introducing students to the pragmatist tradition and to neo-pragmatism, turned out unexpectedly: students knew so little of the history of modern philosophy that  it was necessary to include  summaries of. e.g., Descartes' approach.  One of the term papers in this class, by the way, was subsequently published in the Transactions of the C. S. Peirce Society.

RESUMEN:
La deconstrucción irrumpe en el pensamiento de la escritura, como una escritura de la escritura, que por lo pronto obliga a otra lectura: no ya imantada a la comprensión hermenéutica del sentido que quiere-decir un discurso, a su fondo de ilegibilidad y de deseo de idioma–, a las fuerzas no intencionales inscritas en los sistemas significantes de un discurso que hacen de éste propiamente un “texto”, es decir, algo que por su propia naturaleza o por su propia ley se resiste a ser comprendido como expresión de un sentido, o más bien “expone” éste como efecto –y con su legalidad y necesidad específica– de una ilusión para la conciencia.
Dr. Adolfo Vásquez Rocca
/derridadeconstruccion.htm
VERSIONES [Ediciones]
1. VÁSQUEZ ROCCA, Adolfo, “DERRIDA: DECONSTRUCCIÓN, DIFFÉRANCE Y DISEMINACIÓN; UNA HISTORIA DE PARÁSITOS, HUELLAS Y ESPECTROS”. En Revista OBSERVACIONES FILOSÓFICAS - Nº 19 / 2014 – ISSN 0718-3712. https://www.observacionesfilosoficas.net/derridadeconstruccion.htm
2.  VÁSQUEZ ROCCA, Adolfo, “DERRIDA : DECONSTRUCTION, DIFFERANCE AND SPREAD; A HISTORY OF PARASITES, FOOTPRINTS AND SPECTRA”, En CASA LITTERAE, Universidad de Concepción, Abril de 2015,
https://www.casalitterae.cl/index.php/estadistica/83-derrida-deconstruction-differance-and-spread-a-history-of-parasites-footprints-and-spectra
3. VÁSQUEZ ROCCA, Adolfo, “DERRIDA: DECONSTRUCCIÓN, DIFFÉRANCE Y DISEMINACIÓN; UNA HISTORIA DE PARÁSITOS, HUELLAS Y ESPECTROS”, En REDAZIONE ROSEBUD –Critica, Scrittura, Giornalismo– Enero 2015, Dublin, Ireland, https://rinabrundu.com/2015/01/05/derrida-deconstruccion-differance-y-diseminacion-una-historia-de-parasitos-huellas-y-espectros/
ADOLFO VÁSQUEZ ROCCA D.Phil

Middle-class progressives in the early 20th Century wanted to transform a corrupt and chaotic industrial America into an "authentic" democracy. But they were led astray by their privilege. Focused on enhancing the voices of individuals, generations of progressives remained blind to the rich culture of "democratic solidarity" infusing labor unions and organizing in poor communities. This book traces the problematic evolution of progressive democracy in America, focusing on schools as a key site of progressive practice. At the same time, it examines alternative strategies for developing more empowering approaches to democratic education and collective action.