Rorty's engagement with leading Continental Philosophers, especially Heidegger, Derrida and Foucault

What is it about?

How Rorty responded to the work of the Continental Philosophers with whom he engaged in detail and what, if anything, he learnt from these engagements. While he was clearly attracted to the work of Heidegger and Derrida, his account of their work either amounted to attributing to them views he had already discovered in American Pragmatism, or presenting them as literary rather than philosophical thinkers.

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Why is it important?

Rorty is considered unusual among Analytic philosophers for having seriously engaged with Continental thinkers. This chapter questions the quality of his engagement.