General & Miscellaneous American Philosophy, Modern Philosophy - 20th Century, Modern Philosophy - 19th Century, United States Studies - General & Miscellaneous, 20th Century American Philosophy
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Overview
In this volume, a host of distinguished scholars examine Richard Rorty's influence on twentieth-century American pragmatism and its commitment to achieving social democracy. Rorty's reclaiming of the pragmatist tradition and his contribution to the discipline of intellectual history are highlighted; at the same time, each essay finds Rorty's pragmatism (most fully enunciated in "Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity") lacking in its privatist vision of the good life. This criticism is drawn out through explicit comparisons between Rorty and his grandfather Walter Rauschenbusch, William James, John Dewey, Randolph Bourne, Richard J. Bernstein, and other twentieth century pragmatist thinkers. This volume offers the most complete historical treatment of this controversial intellectual to date.Author Biography: John Pettegrew is assistant professor of history at Lehigh University. He is currently completing a book entitled "Brutes in Suits: The Pathological Origins of American Masculinity, 1890-1920."
Editorials
CHOICE
Insightfully introduced and contexualized by editor John Pettegrew, these well-written and probing pieces map the trajectory of Rorty's philosophical odyssey against the backdrop of America's and pragmatism's historical development.Political Studies
These essays succeed in illustrating the analytic fertility of intellectual history in relation to this influential and controversial thinker whose significance is hard to capture either through philosophical or political analysis alone.Choice
Insightfully introduced and contexualized by editor John Pettegrew, these well-written and probing pieces map the trajectory of Rorty's philosophical odyssey against the backdrop of America's and pragmatism's historical development.Journal of American History
The excellent essays in this volume, some previously published, engage with Rorty but invariably find him lacking.Political Studies Review
These essays succeed in illustrating the analytic fertility of intellectual history in relation to this influential and controversial thinker whose significance is hard to capture either through philosophical or political analysis alone.Book Details
Published
June 10, 2026
Publisher
Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, c2000.
Pages
232
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780847690619