Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature: Thirtieth-Anniversary Edition |  | Author: Richard Rorty
Creators: Michael Williams, David Bromwich
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 62,759
Media: Paperback
Edition: 30 Anv
Pages: 472
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0691141320
Dewey Decimal Number: 109
EAN: 9780691141329
ASIN: 0691141320
Publication Date: December 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When it first appeared in 1979, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature hit the philosophical world like a bombshell. In it, Richard Rorty argued that, beginning in the seventeenth century, philosophers developed an unhealthy obsession with the notion of representation: comparing the mind to a mirror that reflects reality. Rorty's book is a powerful critique of this imagery and the tradition of thought that it spawned. Thirty years later, the book remains a must-read and stands as a classic of twentieth-century philosophy. Its influence on the academy, both within philosophy and across a wide array of disciplines, continues unabated. This edition includes new essays by philosopher Michael Williams and literary scholar David Bromwich, as well as Rorty's previously unpublished essay "The Philosopher as Expert."
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| Customer Reviews:
 Rejuvenated My Interest in Philosophy January 14, 2010
Anonscribe (San Diego, CA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
While certain aspects of this book will be unintelligible to those lacking a technical education (like me) in American analytic philosophy--or to those who've never read Sartre, Hegel or Heidegger--the style of the book renders its main points interesting and comprehensible to an intelligent, thoughtful reader. Rorty's main points come through clearly and powerfully. The metaphor of philosophy as a mirror of nature--and the imperative need to move beyond this metaphor--is compelling and independent of the more analytically dense portions of the book. The full second half is fairly easy to follow for those who have more than a passing interest in philosophy.
But, this isn't it's main value. If you're daunted by the prospect of reading Derrida or Foucault--or even Sartre--parts of this book are the most honest and readable abridgments I've run across. As a lit grad student, I barely understood Derrida. Reading Rorty was like being given a magic key to unlock the inscrutable mysteries of continental postmodernism. Some find Rorty's style strained, but I think he's one of the most talented English-language stylists philosophy has known--perhaps second only to Jane Addams or William James.
This isn't light beach-reading material, but it is a great read for those at all interested in contemporary philosophy.
 Rorty October 24, 2009
Craig R. Clark
2 out of 25 found this review helpful
I was a bit disappointed. Some interesting issues raised about science and linguistics, but the philosophy is somewhat tenuous. Clearly following the trend that only academic philosophers need understand each other leaves the intelligent layman out in left field. Carl Sagan once lamented this same trend in the sciences, that is, that astronomers need only write for other astronomers. Obviously, String Theory is headed in the same direction, making it unintelligible for all but physicists who have been trained in the new math. Great thinkers are readily grasped by readers outside their own field. I met a philosopher who didn't want me to read his book because it was too "technical". As far as I am concerned, if you can't put your theories into plain and lucid language, your work will become useless and discarded by the majority of people who read books and use libraries.
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