<p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2" data-doc-id="7142517000000279001" data-doc-type="writer">Whether it's theology, philosophy, politics, or science, it is not uncommon for people to believe their particular worldview has greater authority over others. This authoritarian approach to ideas implies that one person's representation of truth more closely and certainly reflects reality—they have the truth and we must submit to it.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> Alternatively, pragmatists believe this abstract certitude leads to religious fundamentalism, philosophical dogmatism, political absoluteness, and rigid scientism.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> For thinkers like the late-twentieth century philosopher Richard Rorty, language is an instrument for coordinating our efforts in addressing concrete issues we face in our lived environments.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2">He doesn't believe theology, politics, philosophy, or even science are about acquiring an accurate representation of reality. In fact, he rejects the notion that the nature of truth is one of language mirroring reality. Instead, he views language as a dynamic tool, not something that reproduces truth.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> Often credited with rehabilitating pragmatism, Rorty encourages us to abandon these authoritarian approaches for what he calls a literary culture. While he holds that none of these disciplines have an epistemically privileged position from which they can determine which truth claims more closely represent reality, they each still play important roles in society.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12.00","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2">In other words, each provides us with particular vocabularies with different uses. Their vitality resides in the way they empower us to describe and redescribe experiences in continually novel and fruitful ways.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgba(0,="" 0,="" 0,="" 0)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","type":"text"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> Elin Danielsen Huckerby is a research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, associated with an EU-funded project on Inclusive Science and European Democracies. She recently graduated with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she worked on Rorty’s uses of literature in his philosophical work.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> She believes Rorty's literary attitude gives us more productive ways to move culture, science, and politics forward.  </p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2">A few questions to ponder.</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" ff":"Open="" Sans","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","fw":"none","fgc":"rgb(0,="" 0,="" 0)","size":"12","va":"baseline","fw_i":400,"type":"text","fs":"normal","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)"}"="" data-margin-bottom="0pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.2"> <span class="EOP"> </span></p> What is the role of literature in liberal democracies? What is moral progress for Rorty? How can liberal democracies benefit from embracing a more literary rather than scientistic culture? And, how worried should we be about Rorty's rejection of objective truth? <p> </p> <p>Show Notes</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" type":"text","size":"12","url":"https:="" www.repository.cam.ac.uk="" handle="" 1810="" 329458","lnktype":1,"fs":"none","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6" data-doc-id="7142517000000279001" data-doc-type="writer"> <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rorty/" target="undefined">Richard Rorty</a> </p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" type":"text","size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/329458" target="undefined">The Takeover by Literary Culture: Richard Rorty's Philosophy of Literature</a> by Elin Danielsen Huckerby (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6">"<a href="https://erraticus.co/2021/04/16/rortian-liberalism-richard-rorty-truth-pragmatism-cheryl-misak/" target="undefined">Rortian Liberalism and the Problem of Truth</a>" by Adrian Rutt (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2021/07/07/pragmatism-human-flourishing-live-well-john-stuhr/" target="undefined">S1E20 Can Pragmatism Help Us Live Well?</a> w/ John Stuhr (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2021/04/14/pluralistic-pluralism-pragmatism-james-peirce-rorty-justin-marshall/"> S1E14 A Tool for a Pluralistic World w/ Justin Marshall</a> (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2021/03/17/analytic-philosophy-edifying-richard-rorty-dark-years-jacob-goodson-solidarity/"> S1E12 Philosophers Need to Care About the Poor w/ Jacob Goodson</a> (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2021/01/06/charles-sanders-peirce-inquiry-community-david-ohara/"> S1E07 Charles Peirce and Inquiry as an Act of Love w/ David O’Hara</a> (2021)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2020/12/23/levinas-james-pragmatic-phenomenology-megan-craig/"> S1E06 Levinas and James: A Pragmatic Phenomenology w/ Megan Craig</a> (2020)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw":"none","fs":"normal","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)","va":"baseline","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://erraticus.co/2020/10/10/richard-rorty-achieving-our-country-adrian-rutt/" target="undefined">S1E01 Richard Rorty and Achieving Our Country</a> w/ Adrian Rutt (2020)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6">“<a href="https://erraticus.co/2020/06/24/john-kaag-sick-souls-healthy-minds-william-james-pragmatism/">The Power of One Idea</a>” by Jeffrey Howard (2020)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6">“<a href="https://erraticus.co/2020/08/24/pragmatic-truth-existentialism-bergson-sartre-james-pragmatism/">The Pragmatic Truth of Existentialism</a>” by Donovan Irven (2020)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw":"none","fs":"normal","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)","va":"baseline","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo5813554.html"> Richard Rorty: The Making of an American Philosopher</a> by Neil Gross (2008)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw":"none","fs":"normal","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)","va":"baseline","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6">"<a href="https://cdclv.unlv.edu/pragmatism/rorty_orchids.html" target="undefined">Trotsky and the Wild Orchids</a>" by Richard Rorty (1992)</p> <p class="zw-paragraph heading0" data-header="0" data-textformat="{" size":"12","fgc":"rgb(68,="" 68,="" 68)","type":"text","ff":"Open="" Sans","fw":"none","fs":"normal","fv":"normal","td":"none","cs":"0pt","bgc":"rgb(255,="" 255,="" 255)","va":"baseline","fw_i":400}"="" data-margin-bottom="11.25pt" data-hd-info="0" data-line-height="1.6"><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/philosophy/philosophy-social-science/contingency-irony-and-solidarity?format=PB&isbn=9780521367813"> Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity</a> by Richard Rorty (1989)</p> <p><a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178158/philosophy-and-the-mirror-of-nature" target="undefined">Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature</a> by Richard Rorty (1979)</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://damntheabsolute.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">damntheabsolute.substack.com</a>