A Pragmatist’s Progress?: Richard Rorty and American Intellectual History

In this volume, a host of distinguished scholars examine Richard Rorty’s influence on 20th 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 20th century pragmatist thinkers. This volume offers a complete historical treatment of this controversial intellectual to date.