From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Tue Oct 28 2003 - 18:55:38 GMT
Paul,
Paul said:
Is it ever possible, as a Rortyan pragmatist, to say about an interpretation of an author's thoughts that "This isn't quite right..."?
Matt:
I think so. Depends on what the standards are. Like I said before, if there are established reference points then you can weed out certain things that are obviously wrong. My reference point were Rorty's writings and I can quote him. If somebody, rather than trying to agree on what Rorty was saying, is trying to redescribe the entire projects of philosophers, like Kuhn was doing with scientists, then accuracy, as I said before, would be out of point. But between David and I in discussing Rorty's views, I don't think it is.
And I'm not trying to establish Rorty's essence, just what he thinks about judging different cultures. If on this point he displays a stunning display of complexity and seeming contradiction, then perhaps interpretation of him would be a bit more up for grabs. If it is shown to me that he has complex views on this or that, I would be more than happy to forward one interpretation over the others as a better one, though perhaps not an "essence". For instance, getting caught up in Rorty's self-referencing as an "atheist" and a "physicalist," I think, misses the spirit that his pragmatism entails. Just as Rorty is more than happy to capture the spirit of Dewey's letter, I am more than happy to make my play for the spirit of Rorty's.
Paul said:
And if intersubjective agreement is the pragmatist measure of "right," doesn't "right" equally belong to the "many [who] have interpreted Rorty as saying this" as to those, like yourself, who haven't?
Matt:
No, right doesn't belong equally to anybody. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a difference between right and wrong. What happens, though, is that I am trying to persuade people that I'm right and these others are wrong. The more conversation that is had on this, the more people will, more than likely, become swayed one way or the other. As history marches on, the sway may eventually go the other way, too.
Matt
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