On Rorty's Construction Of "Post-philosophical Culture"

Philosophy of the world is undergoing great changes and reforms at this millennium, and traditional western philosophy's attempt to erect an eternal knowledge framework has fallen into an impasse. Therefore, a philosophical turning characterized by anti-traditional philosophy has happened in the circle of western philosophy since the middle 19th century. Rorty is one of the most outstanding philosophers in this circle. He established his famous theory of post-philosophical culture through his critic on traditional metaphysics. In this culture, no one culture department possesses privilege, and philosophy, sciences, literature and politics etc. are all equal. Rorty insists to derive the privilege from philosophy and melts it into other culture fields as an equal dialogist.By means of reconstructing traditional philosophical function, Rorty transforms philosophy from epistemology into hermeneutics, and clears up in the dialogue commensurable which we should adhere to in common previously. As a system of grasping objects, philosophy is replaced by "enlightening philosophy", whose goal is to maintain the dialogue continuing, rather than a specific end.To rationalism, the highest goal it pursues is to grasp objectively existing truth, or "consistency". It depends on "strong reason" to deal with this all, while it's impossible to get absolute truth in fact. The only thing we can do is to establish a newer and better living style through "weak reason". Truth has no essence, and it is just a kind of opinion or belief which is only the thing we'd better believe as well as a useful tool which could make us freer and happier.The core of post-philosophical culture is the problem of democracy, namely, how to make more and different personal goals attainable, and how to live more comfortably, to secure more freedom.In all, in the design of post-philosophical culture, Rorty's basic strategy is criticizing traditional philosophy, replacing epistemology with hermeneutics, transforming systematic philosophy to enlightening philosophy, superseding weak reason with strong reason, re-discussing the problem of truth by means of pragmatism, erecting the free and democratic theory of post-philosophical culture.