Richard Rorty: Prophet and Poet of the New Pragmatism

David Hall does a truly commendable job here, offering an analysis of Rorty's neopragmatism that is deep and charitable, incisive and critical. Rorty "in a nutshell", if such a thing is possible. I especially like his opening up of Rorty's idea of "cruelty being the worst thing we can do" to include animal cruelty--is Rorty a "species-ist"? In another area, Hall's discussion of the eastern philosophical tradition provides a challenge to Rorty's ethnocentrism, while also providing an empirical example of the success of Rortyan pluralism. A well-written and thought provoking book.

Believe me, I have read a lot by and about Richard Rorty, and my opinion is that this book is definitely the best about him. It is always witty even funny sometimes without ever losing the focus. Even more important is that the David Hall paraphrases Rorty in an decent manner. He never loses the Rortys own points, and very often he adds even better arguments. Even when Hall is taking a critical stance towards Rorty he is always fair to the text. Therefore anyone interested in Rorty more or less professionally should read this volume!