Richard Rorty: (Bloomsbury Contemporary American Thinkers)

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.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments \ Introduction \ 1. Philosophy as Existential Quest: Rorty’s Life in Thought \ 2. The Philosophical Therapist: Rorty’s Critique of ‘Philosophy-as-Epistemology’ \ 3. The Liberal Ironist: Rorty’s Cultural Politics \ 4. The Anticlerical Prophet: Rorty and Religion \ 5. What is Truth For? The Conversation Continues \ Conclusion: Pragmatism as the Apotheosis of the Future: Rorty, Hope, and the American Sublime \ Notes \ Bibliography \ Index

About the Author :
Ronald A. Kuipers is Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at The Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Canada. He is Director of the ICS Centre for Philosophy, Religion, and Social Ethics.

Review :
Ronald Kuipers has written a well-informed, interesting, and clear overview of Richard Rorty's contributions to American thought. I find it especially instructive on Rorty's thinking about religion and politics. Even after his death, Richard Rorty is still “the most interesting philosopher in the world today” (Harold Bloom). Kuipers’ book provides the best introduction to all facets of Rorty’s work, not only for the beginning reader but also for anyone who cares about the relevance of philosophy today. The chapter on Rorty as Anticlerical Prophet is a tour de force. This is a good book for students coming to Rorty for the first time. We have the biography that formed the man, the criticism of “representation” that launched the bad-boy of analytic philosophy, and the political thought of the liberal ironist. Kuipers has an ear for Rorty’s distinctive voice, and is skillful in pinning down what he calls “Rorty’s philosophical evasions.” Ronald Kuipers’ study into the life and work of Richard Rorty is fresh, informed and insightful. Rarely are philosophical commentaries such a delight to read, but Kuipers’ nails it. On the fifth anniversary of Professor Rorty’s passing, Kuipers’ book is also well timed. It’s a reminder of how Rorty’s thought remains relevant and of how sorely his presence is missed in these turbulent times.