PHL 400 Lecture Notes - Richard Rorty, Rationality, Eurocentrism
27 Nov 2013
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Truth and meaning, for the pragmatists, are function of usefulness; important to distinguish utilitarianism (nature of right) were pragmatist = nature of truth. What difference would it practically make to any one if this notion rather than that notion were true? -> the question pragmatists ask to make decisions. Our beliefs are just rules for action (james, 43) Pragmatism means the open air and posibilitiws of nature, as against dogma, artificiality and the pretence of finality in truth (truth often acts that stable rudder we use to steer everything) For a pragmatist, theories thus become instruments, not answers to enigmas, in which we can rest (46) Ideas (which themselves are but parts of our experience) become true just in so far as they help us get into satisfactory relations with other parts of our experience . You can destroy all the beautiful things in the world and not harm a hair of the idea of beauty plato.
