Pragmatist transcendence in Rorty's metaphilosophy

Nicholas H. Smith, Tracy Llanera

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article argues that a pragmatist ambition to transcendence undergirds Richard Rorty’s metaphilosophy. That transcendence might play a positive role in Rorty’s work might seem implausible given his well-known rejection of the idea that human practices are accountable to some external, Archimedean standpoint, and his endorsement of the historicist view that standards of rationality are products of time and chance. It is true that Rorty’s contributions to epistemology, philosophy of mind and metaphysics have this anti-transcendentalist character. But in his metaphilosophy, Rorty shows great respect for pre-philosophical impulses aimed at transcendence of some kind, in particular the romantic (and indeed religious) experience of awe at something greater than oneself, and the utopian striving for a radically better world. These impulses do not disappear in Rorty’s metaphilosophy but are reshaped in a pragmatist iteration of transcendence which, we argue, can be characterised as horizontal (rather than vertical) and weak (rather strong). We use this characterization to distinguish Rorty’s metaphilosophy from other accounts that share a postmetaphysical ambition to transcendence.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)97-116
    Number of pages20
    JournalAnalyse und Kritik
    Volume41
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - May 2019

    Keywords

    • metaphilosophy
    • pragmatism
    • Richard Rorty
    • transcendence

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Pragmatist transcendence in Rorty's metaphilosophy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this