Richard Rorty is one of the most
oft-cited yet least understood philosophers of the twentieth century. This
book offers an overview and introduction to Rorty's ideas, key writings
and contributions to the various fields of philosophy. Chronologically
organized, the book traces the development of Rorty's thought and examines
all the key topics, and controversies, central to his work.
Ronald A. Kuipers introduces Rorty's
complex thought through the exploration of three Rortyan personas: The
Philosophical Therapist, The Liberal Ironist, and the Anticlerical Prophet. This
exploration of Rorty's multivalent yet deeply coherent intellectual identity is
set against the background of Rorty's personal motivations for studying
philosophy, and for pursuing the controversial questions he did. The book
portrays how, in conversation with the traditions of American Pragmatism,
Analytic Philosophy, and Continental Thought, Rorty weaves his own unique and
original philosophy. Rorty's originality resides in his fresh approach to
interrelated social and political problems, revealing a thinker who has
important reasons for wading into controversial intellectual waters. This
is the ideal companion to study of this hugely influential thinker.