Just a quick progress note – day job precludes extensive analysis – Finished Nietzsche’s Beyond Good & Evil, and re-started Rorty’s Philosophy and the Mirror on Nature.
So much Nietzsche rings true, and his arrogant self-assured style is breathtaking. Mysogeny – OK got me there – well let’s put it down to the chauvinism of his time, his arrogance, two rejected marriage proposals, an upbringing in an all female household including a very meddlesome sister … and hopefully a small dose of playful irony – so the guy wasn’t perfect. Nazi – I don’t think so on this evidence – just about every “race” nation and people comes in for no-holds-barred critical analysis. Jews he’s sympathetic to and warns against extreme reactions. Us Brits (the English actually) he has spot on. His own Germany fares no better. Anyway I digress.
Rorty is back on track – as I suspected his impenetrable jargon laden opening chapter was deliberate – to show the language of modern philosophies against the obligatory history of thought from Aristotle at the rest. I wonder how many other readers he lost with this ploy. Got the “glassy soul” / mirror analogy from Measure for Measure. Anyway I’m happy now. Duty calls.