OPEN UNIVERSITY JUNE 13, 2007
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by Casey N. Blake
I am disappointed that The New Republic's only
response to Richard Rorty's passing is Damon Linker's
article, which is at best grudging in
its appreciation of his contribution and otherwise
dismissive of a body of work noteworthy for its
originality and significance. I have written recently
on Rorty's career for Dissent and
won't repeat my assessment here, but I would like to
make three brief points that may be of interest to
readers of this magazine.
First, Rorty did more than any other thinker in the
last thirty years to restore John Dewey and the
progressive milieu he inspired (which of course
included the "old" New Republic) to the center of
American intellectual life.
Like Dewey, Rorty explored how a culture committed to
the expansion of individual freedom might at the same
time promote human solidarity without requiring
agreement on the nature of the good life, religion, or
other "first" principles. One can take issue with
Rorty's proposed solution to this long-standing
problem in liberalism in *Contingency, Irony, and
Solidarity*, but it's hard to imagine a more pressing
intellectual project at this perilous moment in our
history.
Finally, Rorty modeled in his own interventions what a
vital, democratic culture looks like at its best by
his unflagging commitment to intellectual debate.
Unlike most people in the academy, he was willing to
live with disagreement. I found plenty to disagree
with in Rorty's work over the years. But disagreeing
with Rorty as I read along was always stimulating and
productive, at times even exhilarating. I can't say
that about most of the work that commands my assent.
In this and other ways, his passing is a genuine loss
for our culture.
10 comments
In case you haven't noticed, TNR is not exactly a sentimental outfit. Molly Ivins died and she barely got a 3 sentence blurb on the Plank. Also, senior staffers can have newborns and not a word on the event anywhere. Truly, this is an organization riddled with all the sentiment and sensitivity of a frat pledge week...
- MrCookie1
June 13, 2007 at 2:11pm
I could not agree more with Casey Blake. TNR is supposed to be the general journal of American liberalism. Richard Rorty was one of the most significant liberal thinkers of the past several decades. I'm in no position to assess Linkler's criticisms (although they strike me as pretty thin,) but they do not come close to providing the sort of careful appreciation that Rorty's works deserve. I remember that the death of Isaiah Berlin was the occasion for a cover story by Wieseltier. I seem to also recall that TNR criticized the Times for marking Berlin's death with a shallow, critical op-ed by Paul Johnson. I hope the editors are working on a more appropriate treatment of Rorty and his role in the development of American liberalism.
- hsny
June 13, 2007 at 2:32pm
I'm betting you have read a lot of Rorty, who I have only some passing aquaintence with. He is said to be an anti-foundationalist, but in what I have read of him, he prizes egalitarianism as a kind of first principle. Why does not his privileging of egalitarianism constitute it a foundationalist premise of his thinking?
- basman
June 13, 2007 at 3:21pm
can you run that by me again? I am not sure if your question is phrased correctly? Are you asking "why doesn't his privileging of egalitarianism constitute...can you clarify? Thanks.
- MrCookie1
June 13, 2007 at 3:53pm
He disavows foundationalist thinking. But isn't egatlitarianism the foundation of his thinking?
- basman
June 13, 2007 at 4:02pm
scroll down to the next Rorty link. Matthew Y has a response which is fare better than anything I could give you. I was going to go into a long winded response on Foucalt and Derrida, taking a tour around pragmatism and ending up bitching about Marty and mini me... Read Matthew's link.
- MrCookie1
June 13, 2007 at 4:51pm
while it wasn't the kind of piece you're looking for, I posted something on this very blog before Linker's essay was up: http://www.tnr.com/blog/openuniversity?pid=116202 I'd also say that it's probably too early to judge what TNR-- which is, afterall, primarily a biweekly print magazine, not a website-- will ultimately have to say about Rorty.
- openu
June 13, 2007 at 5:05pm
Thanks, but I had actually read the short piece by M.Y. and the essay by Rorty he linked to, and in the comments to his post at #14 I asked him the same question, prompted by what I had read. So by all means take me on the guided tour, if you are of a mind to. Or is there a simple answer to the question that I'm just not getting? p.s. I don't want to appear unknowing and unhip, but who is "mini me" other than a Mike Myers character? Itzik
- basman
June 13, 2007 at 5:25pm
do you mean you have missed the tour de force provided by epackard? Dr. Evil and mini me starred in the Austin Powers movies. Dr. Evil's mini me was a mini version of the good Doctor himself. Here at TNR, among some hipsters at the Plank - the Spine, the few and grouchy, did not like the joke - Dr. Evil is Marty and mini me is Jamie Kirchick. It ran throughout the weekend. Even got picked up at one other blog. The three photos earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from JoeCuomo. This, my friend, is far more interesting than my attempts to rekindle lost memories from Poly Sci Contemporary Philos from Richard Rorty...
- MrCookie1
June 13, 2007 at 5:40pm
- basman
June 13, 2007 at 9:58pm