Richard Rorty: The Making of an American Philosopher

This making of an American philosopher only covers the making, that is from Rorty's grandparents, parents, schooling, and career until about 1982. Rorty continued to live and write for another 25 years but that period falls beyond the view of this investigation. It is interesting that an author would unroll an arsenal of sociological methods to address the circumstances of a single individual. Most of the new sociology of ideas assists the author's effort to show the changes in American academia and the stratification of disciplines occurring after WWII, and such explication is very well done. When it is clear that a theory will not account for a life-decision made by Rorty, Gross employs his "self-concept" idea; which suggests, roughly, that individuals behave in accord with their conception of self. The novelty of this innovation is hardly shattering and such a wishy-washy guide as to seem capricious beside some of the hard-earned, empirical theories of sociology and educational change. The author sets out to reveal how it is possible that someone like Rorty could grow into a brilliant and controversial academic superstar. The sociological methods do very well to establish frames of intellectual activity and contexts for Rorty's opportunities, but they in no way persuade that Rorty's explosive success was anything other than unique. One case-study of a single individual does not make a science or a sociology secure (or convincing). On the whole, this book offers a very solid review of Richard Rorty's early career, its development and some suggestions as to what made him tick, but revolutionary sociology this is not.