Università Roma Tre

Realism and relativism. Neo-pragmatist lines.

The course will focus on:
- Introduction to the concepts of realism and relativism
- R. Rorty's criticism of modern and contemporary foundationalist realism.
- Realism in H. Putnam and the controversy with R. Rorty on reality, truth and epistemic relativism.
- Outlines of the debate on Putnam and Rorty.

R. Rorty, Philosophy and The Mirror of Nature Princeton Univ Pr, 2017, Parts I and II.
R. Rorty, Truth and Progress, Cambridge University Press, 2010, chapters (photocopies available): “Is Truth a Goal of Inquiry? Donald Davidson versus Crispin Wright", pp 19-42; “Hilary Putnam and the Relativist Menace", pp 43-62; “John Searle on Realism and Relativism" pp 63-83.
H. Putnam, Realism with a Human Face, Harvard University Press, 1992, pp 105-140 (photocopies available).
H. Putnam, The antinomy of realism, in Idem, The Threefold Cord: Mind, Body, and World, Columbia University Press 2001, pp. 11-40.
B. Williams, “Epistemology and the Mirror of Nature,” in Rorty and his Critics, Robert Brandom (ed.), Blackwel, 2000, pp. 191 – 213 (disponibile in fotocopia)
M.Dell’Utri, Il pragmatismo conteso. Rorty vs Putnam (via Davidson), in “Annali della facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere dell’Univ. di Sassari 2001, pp. 283-305 (disponibile in fotocopia)
M. Bastianelli, Realtà e verità in Hilary Putnam, in Vinti (a cura di), Le forme della razionalità tra realismo e normatività, Mimesis , pp. 75-88 ( disponibile in fotocopia)
R.M. Calcaterra, Contingency and Normativity. The Challenges of Richard Rorty, Brill-Rodopi 2019, pp. 11-68 ( disponibile online)

Suggested Texts:
R. M. Calcaterra, G. Maddalena, G. Marchetti (eds.), Il Pragmatismo. Dalle origini agli sviluppi contemporanei (a cura di) Carocci, 20184, pp. 47-170, 191-224, 289-346.
E. Picardi, “Pragmatismo e teorie del significato: Rorty, Davidson, Brandom” in R.M. Calcaterra (a cura di), Pragmatismo e filosofia analitica, Quodlibet 2006, pp. 139-158 (disponibile in fotocopia)
M. Dell’Utri, Ontologia pragmatica in P.L.Lecis, V. Busacchi, P. Salis ( a cura di), Realtà, verità, rappresentazione, Franco Angeli 2015, pp. 53-64 (disponibile in fotocopia).
Idem, Il valore della verità: Paolo Parrini e Richard Rorty, in R. Lanfredini, A. Peruzzi ( a cura di), A Plea for Balance in Philosophy, ETS, 2013, pp.423-436.
A. Vieth, Richard Rorty. His philosophy under discussion,  De Gruyter, 2013.
B. T. Ramberg, Davidson and Rorty: Triangulation and Anti-Foundationalism, in J. Malpas & H.-H. Gander (eds.), Routledge Companion to Hermeneutics, Routledge, New York 2014, Chap. 17.