Pragmatismo come filosofia della prassi e critica della cultura. Riflessioni a partire dal Richard Rorty di Rosa Maria Calcaterra e Sarin Marchetti

In what follows, I take my cue from Calcaterra and Marchetti’s monographic study on Richard Rorty to reflect on some reasons of his philosophical and political significance for present culture. I briefly touch upon all the main aspects of Rorty’s philosophy covered by the two authors: his canonization of a neo-pragmatist brand, critique of foundationalism, work on solidarity and literature, etc. However, I concentrate especially on the political implications of his philosophy. I stress that, as Marchetti and Calcaterra’s work brilliantly demonstrate, contrary to a widespread conception according to which anti-foundationalism in philosophy necessarily translates in relativism, individualism, and the acceptance of the present economic system, Rorty’s philosophy points in exactly the opposite direction.