Anti-Authority: Comparing Popper and Rorty On The Development of Beliefs and Practices

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Abstract

For many, Rorty was a postmodern relativist and Popper was a positivist and Cold War liberal ideologue. The argument developed here rejects such views and explores how Rorty’s work is best understood from a Popperian problem-solving perspective. It is argued that Rorty erred in seeking justification for beliefs, unlike Popper who replaced the search for justification with criticism. Nonetheless, Rorty’s arguments about post-Nietzschean theory and reformism function as important updates to Popper’s arguments about methodological essentialism and piecemeal social engineering, respectively.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)73-94
Number of pages22
JournalSocial Epistemology
Volume29
Issue number1
Early online date3 Jul 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Jan 2015

Keywords

  • Authority
  • Criticism
  • Popper
  • Problem-Solving
  • Rorty

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