When Richard Rorty died last year, the New York Times called him 'one of the world's most influential contemporary thinkers'. Few philosophers would accept this assessment. Rorty was widely read and admired by many, he had a good nose for a controversy and was impressive in oral debate. But his influence on philosophy has, so far, been minimal: Rorty's unconvincing attempts to show that traditional philosophy has had its day have largely been ignored by philosophers. Outside the field, he's the philosopher you can cite in your defence if you dislike traditional philosophy as much as he did.

LRB 19 June 2008 | PDF Download