The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Ep. 350: Rorty on Justification and Essentialism (Part One)

Sep 16, 2024

Philosopher Richard Rorty, known for his influential thoughts on pragmatism and anti-authoritarianism, dives into powerful ideas about democracy and truth. He argues that we don't need absolute truths to justify democratic values. Rorty dismisses the distinction between essential and accidental properties, proposing that everything is defined by its relations. The conversation also humorously navigates the divide between continental and analytic philosophies, championing a shift toward pan-relationalism to understand reality.

51:16

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Richard Rorty

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Quick takeaways

Rorty asserts that democracy can be justified without reference to absolute truths, highlighting its contextual and relational nature.

The critique of essentialism emphasizes that object identity stems from relationships and interactions rather than fixed intrinsic properties.

Deep dives

Truth and Relationalism in Pragmatism

Pragmatism challenges traditional notions of truth, suggesting that truth should not be viewed as an objective, fixed entity. Instead, it posits that truth is inherently contextual and closely tied to practical implications. For pragmatists, such as Rorty, the significance of a statement lies in its effectiveness in practice rather than its adherence to an absolute standard of truth. This idea draws attention to the interconnectedness of beliefs and practices and questions whether the pursuit of abstract, universal truths is meaningful within a pragmatic framework.

Intro

3min

Exploring Mind-Independent Reality and Matrix Analogies

2min

Philosophy of Contextual Truth and Democracy

18min

Exploring Relationalism and Essentialism in Philosophy

5min

Reframing Ontology: A Journey Beyond Realism

21min

Exploring Essentialism and Pragmatism: The Case of Water

4min

On "Universality and Truth" and "Pan-Relationalism," which are lectures 3-5 in Richard Rorty's Pragmatism As Anti-Authoritarianism.

How do we justify democracy? Rorty says we don't have to refer to transcendent Truth or Good to do this. He also denies the disinction between essential and accidental properties, and in fact between substance and property: Everything is just described in terms of its relations to other things, and which relations are important are not intrinsic to the thing, but a matter of a speaker's purposes.

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