Ethics Without Principles

Richard Rorty is a controversial philosopher in the research of contemporary British and American philosophy. His philosophy doesn't get too much praise from professional philosophers, but it has an enormous influence on the nonprofessional fields. Richard Rorty is a Postmodernist above all. With a wide perspective and keen insight,he launches attacks to traditional metaphysics with rigorous argument methods of analytic philosophy.He comfirmedly rejects to western traditional philosophy about the distinguishes of phenomenon and nature,the mind and the world, subjective and objective, and the Platonic division of language and world in contemporary analysis philosophy.He thinks that the reality and nature which are beyond the history and experience,based on foundationalism,essentialism and representationalism from Plato is illusioned,it is out of the real life and imposes a external purpose to human.Standing on the pragmatism standpoint,Richard Rorty thinks whether science or moral exploration is all the pursuit of adaptability,its purpose is to solve the actual problem which we face to. Moral origin, progress and objectivity are inherent in the practice of our community,they can be interpreted and understood only from the history, cultural traditions and the changing life. He suggests that we should give up the pursuit of the ultimate truth and the fixed, rigescent and universal moral rules,but to turn attention to more people and their need.Through the communications with different cultural communities,we can continually expand the scope of "us"and improve our sensitivity of sympathize. Basing on the intercommunity which we are creating and giving attention to between us and others, we can be enhancing an unity, reduce insult and cruel irony, and finally achieve a ironically liberal utopia,one and another.This paper mainly divides into five parts. The first part is introduction, it mainly introduces the theory and realistic background, the main theoretical and realistic significance of Richard Rorty's ethics.The second part is the first chapter, it briefly discusses the characteristics of the traditional moral philosophy of Plato-Kant type,and the criticism by Richard Rorty. The third part is the second chapter, it mainly expounds the theoretical origin of Richard Rorty's ethics, namely Dewey's ethics. Richard Rorty inherits the experience origin of moral and the important role of emotions in moral. The fourth part is the third chapter, it discusses the Richard Rorty's ethics. Final part is the fourth chapter, it's the brief summary and evaluation. This paper argues that the ethics without principles of Richard Rorty isn't entirely no principles. He puts the pursuit of truth,and the character of exploring reality into the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of unity and advocating harmony; he put moral principles which are based on universal humanity into the accumulations of special cultural tradition and community experience; he puts the objectivity based on the truth and pure reason into rationality by communication, negotiation and consultation through making tiny commonalities that we find or create as a foundation.Such ethics provides a beneficial way of re-examining the value of tradition cultural and constructing the moral utopia for us. But Richard Rorty's ethics only provides a theory framework about the future of moral. He is failed to carry out a more detailed discussion in how to solve the specific moral dilemma, the adaptability problems between history tradition and reality, as well as how to standardize the moral behaviors of people.