A Cultural And Political Poetics Study On Richard Rorty

Richard Rorty,as a representative of the new neo-pragmatism in the United States,has conducted a critical reflection on analytic philosophy and even the entire western philosophy tradition.His philosophical thinking constitutes his own contribution to understanding literature,politics,and society problems.Rorty,as a philosopher,has tirelessly talked about literary issues repeatedly,but literature is not an end but a means to Rorty.His ultimate concern always lies in how to promote humankind’s life of democracy,freedom and happiness.Therefore,the so-called cultural and political poetics is the intersection of philosophy,literature and politics in Rorty’s thought.To the pragmatist Rorty,the narratives represented by literature and philosophical arguments are both tools,but to promote the happiness of human beings,literature is more effective than philosophy.Literature plays a significant role in promoting the solution of real problems.On the one hand,this impetus is manifested in the fact that for a country,literature can not only build a good national image,enhance national cohesion,but also promote the improvement of democratic life.On the other hand,as an individual,literary classics have the value of enlightening.This enlightening value is manifested in the fact that literature can make individuals realize the unimaginable meaning of this life and help people to start a totally new possibility.In other words,literature produces hope.Because of Rorty’s belief that there is no common humanity as the basis for unifying public and private,he advocates the division of public and private.In the private,he uses the example of "Remembrance of Things Past " to illustrate how Proust through the redefinition of all kinds of human beings he encountered in his past life in order to be freed from their bondage and obtain private perfect.In the public,however,Rorty classifies two novelists,Nabokov and Orwell,who differ widely in style,because they share the same topic of "cruelty".The difference between them is that “Lolita” describes the possible cruel tendencies toward the pursuit of personal beauty,and Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and “1984” reveal the cruelty of the totalitarian system itself.It must be emphasized that Rorty has a clear understanding of the cruel tendencies that private perfection may lead to.Therefore,he adds to the premise that an individual’s self-creation in the private should not impede the unity of the public.