Richard Rorty

Philosopher Richard Rorty has died (via Kieran Healy). I can't remember how it is I came to be reading a copy of Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Certainly, it wasn't assigned for any of the classes I took. However it came to be, I was sufficiently influenced by Rorty's thinking to decide that even though I really enjoyed taking philosophy classes, I didn't really think "doing philosophy" was a worthwhile activity. To people who've never studied philosophy, the book would probably seem pointless, but Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity is pitched at a generalist audience and is also excellent.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2007/06/richard-rorty/40713/