Richard Rorty argues that humanity should abandon the search for an objective, universal truth grounded in metaphysics. He introduces the figure of the liberal ironist: an individual who recognizes that their most central beliefs and vocabularies are historical accidents rather than reflections of a biological or divine reality. The text balances private self-creation with public responsibility, suggesting that solidarity is not discovered through shared human essence but created by increasing our sensitivity to the pain of others. Rorty utilizes the literary examples of Nabokov and Orwell to illustrate how cruelty stems from the failure to recognize the diverse vocabularies of different people.
This book serves students of philosophy, political theorists, and literary critics seeking a framework for post-metaphysical ethics. Readers utilize this text to reconcile the desire for personal identity with the demands of a democratic society. Those who finish the work walk away with a vocabulary for defending liberal institutions without relying on rationalist foundations. It provides a method for viewing intellectual history as a series of shifting metaphors rather than a linear progression toward a single truth, helping the reader accept contingency as the starting point for moral progress.
- Published
- 1989
- Language
- EN
