[MD] DMB and Rorty

[Matt Kundert]

Hunh.  How 'bout that.

Well, that's gotta' be a shift for Putnam.  He did--if I'm not 
completely mistaken--want to identify as a pragmatist at 
one point in his career (Putnam is also very famous for 
changing his mind in very bold stripes; kinda' like Bertrand 
Russell and Wittgenstein), whereas Davidson, you are right, 
did never self-identify as a pragmatist.  And, it would 
indeed seem, Putnam and Davidson both identify the core 
of pragmatism with their theory of truth (rightly or wrongly).

Gimme' this to save face at least: Davidson at least never 
wrote a book (Pragmatism, 1994) or essay (many in Realism 
with a Human Face) defending pragmatism.  He was at 
least less confusing about what he self-identified as ;-)

I like the way Putnam denies Rorty the title to pragmatism 
at the end: he says, while chuckling, Rortyism is a good 
enough name, he doesn't have to call himself a pragmatist.

That's the spirit in which I wish more intramural debates 
took place.  It keeps things in better perspective than the 
strident tones many take in order to be heard.  But 
perhaps that's the answer right there: Rorty and Putnam 
already had big names, they didn't need to make a space 
for themselves in the conversation.  They could afford to 
shrug and chuckle.

Matt


> I'm basing my claim about Putnam on this video
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlrEbffVVjM
> 
> 
> At 3:40 Putnam says, "I don't call myself a pragmatist. For one thing,
> I don't like the pragmatist's theory of truth which they were too
> proud of."
 		 	   		  
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