So I am reading Richard Rorty’s Philosophy as Cultural Politics. In part I am reading because I read that Rorty said “truth is what my peer will let me get away with.” This seemed obviously false and I wanted to know what he meant.
So far I have noticed that there is huge strain of philosophy that is unknown to me and that it will take a long time to get to all of it.
However, I think I can report that there is less to my disagreement with Rorty than I first thought. So far, I have encountered the quote
For what counts as an accurate report of the truth is what a community will let you get away with.
This seems clearly true. Moreover, at least so far, in this book, Rorty seems to be concerned with what we should believe which is, in my terms separate from what is true. You may think – as I do – that we should believe things because they are true, but this is certainly not the only reason to believe something.
Moreover, if you asked me why I want to believe things that are true, my ultimate answer is simply compulsion. Truth is obviously useful in many circumstances but there are circumstances in which it would be more convenient to believe a lie.
Yet, I am compelled towards the truth and I really don’t have any further justification.
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Monday ~ April 11th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Scott Sumner
Rorty might say you are confusing cause and effect. You say truth is obviously useful. He’d say what is obviously useful tends to be regarded as true. He’s a philosophical pragmatist. In my view the best way to think about his work is to examine why he doesn’t think much of many dichotomies like objective/subjective, intrinsic/instrumental, belief/knowledge, etc.
Monday ~ April 11th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Greg Ransom
Rorty’s definitions are circular — only the beginning of the pathologies involved.
Tuesday ~ April 12th, 2011 at 8:53 am
Yglesias Truth and Convention « Politics
[...] see Karl Smith ispuzzling overRichard Rorty’s account of [...]
Tuesday ~ April 12th, 2011 at 9:27 am
The Rorty Fast Track « Modeled Behavior
[...] ~ April 12th, 2011 in Economics | by Karl Smith Matt Yglesias responds to my post of Rorty and Truth offering a potential short cut to understanding. You’re saying things and you’re talking about [...]
Wednesday ~ April 13th, 2011 at 9:22 am
Lorenzo from Oz
Some concept of truth is inherent in language. Otherwise you cannot have language because no statement has any specific meaning. If you say “what I mean is …” you are committed to a concept of truth.
Rorty’s scepticism about truth is boringly self-defeating. Since some concept of truth is inherent in language, he is reduced to standard sceptical evasions, such as conflating the sociology of belief with epistemology.
Monday ~ April 18th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Truth and knowledge blogging « facilegestures
[...] week, I was really interested in an exchange between Karl Smith and Matt Yglesias on Richard Rorty’s conception of truth as it relates to social convention, [...]