From Heidegger to Pomos

JKSCHW at aol.com JKSCHW at aol.com
Wed Dec 23 17:59:22 PST 1998


In a message dated 98-12-22 17:34:13 EST, you write:

<< For Rorty, philosophy dissolves into natural science, humanities or psychology

and sociology

JKS: This is one point where I do follow him. Marx of course agreed with this pragmatist move.

SP: One of Rorty's shortcomings is his failure to engage marxism of

any kind.

JKS: His dad, James Rorty, was a former Communist poet who ended up writing anti-Communist screeds for Reader's Digest.

SP: He did have a lacklustre debate with Eagleton in _Radical Philosophy_

saying that marxism was irrelevant since few people believe it, there is no

marxist movement and TINA. He can say this because of his pragmatism and his

eschewing of the correspondence theory of truth. With a corr. theory of truth,

the truth of a theory or a proposition does not depend on how many people

believe it.

JKS: Maybe, but even then you pick your battles. I don't spend time refuting flat Earthers. Rorty thinks that Marxists are flat-Earthers.

SP: think Rorty would benefit from engaging with a theory of ideology.

The 'conversations' he is always alluding to are warped and distorted by

ideology. Ordinary discourse is not communication free from domination.

JKS: Quite right. He resists this notion passionately.

SP: I really

have to read that NOrman Geras book. >>

JKS: Do. It's mostly very good.

--jks



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