Rorty Reader - (Wiley Blackwell Readers) by Christopher J Voparil & Richard J Bernstein (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The first comprehensive collection of the work of Richard Rorty (1931-2007), The Rorty Reader brings together the influential American philosopher's essential essays from over four decades of writings.

• Offers a comprehensive introduction to Richard Rorty's life and body of work
• Brings key essays published across many volumes and journals into one collection, including selections from his final volume of philosophical papers, Philosophy as Cultural Politics (2007))
• Contains the previously unpublished (in English) essay, "Redemption from Egotism"
• Includes in-depth interviews, and several revealing autobiographical pieces
• Represents the fullest portrait available today on Rorty's relationship with American pragmatism and the trajectory of his thought

From the Back Cover

The Rorty Reader represents the first comprehensive collection of the writings of Richard Rorty, one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers, best known for the controversial Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979). Gathering together key essays from over four decades of writings, the volume offers an in-depth introduction to the philosopher's life and prolific body of work. Topics addressed include the continuities and transformations that span Rorty's early training in the history of philosophy, his engagement with the analytic tradition, and the 1979 publication that brought him international renown. Particular attention is devoted to his later political writings, including his turn to literature as the vehicle of moral reflection most suitable to democratic life, and his embrace of philosophy as cultural politics.

With selections from The Linguistic Turn (1967), Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989), Achieving Our Country (1998), and his four volumes of philosophical papers, including Philosophy as Cultural Politics (2007), as well as in-depth interviews and revealing autobiographical pieces, The Rorty Reader offers a compelling and representative view of Rorty's relationship with American pragmatism and the overall intellectual trajectory of his philosophical and political thought.

About the Author

Christopher J. Voparil is on the Graduate Faculty of Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, OH, where he teaches philosophy and political theory. He is the author of Richard Rorty: Politics and Vision (2006), and has published articles in Contemporary Pragmatism, Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Philosophy and Social Criticism, and Education and Culture. He is also the current Secretary of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

Richard J. Bernstein is Vera List Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research, New York. His most recent book is The Pragmatic Turn (Polity, 2010).