Metaphorical truth and neopragmatic realism of Richard Rorty

Abstract

The subject of this research is the examination of neopragmatic realism of Richard Rorty through the prism of the concept of metaphorical truth of Paul Ricoeur. The key goal lies in the attempt to fill the “black box of reality” in the philosophy of R. Rorty with the methodological instruments derived from the concept of metaphorical truth of P. Ricoeur. Having dedicated certain time to describing the core ideas of R. Rorty, the author analyzed the methodology of P. Ricoeur regarding the problem of reality and the cognitive opacity of language characteristic to the system of the American philosopher. The author seeks to determine the common and contradictory aspects in methodology of both philosophers for the purpose of conducting the substitution of the elements of Rorty’s philosophy that is organic for the entire logical construct, concluding on the cognitive opacity of language and elements of Ricoeur’s thoughts that lead to backward reasoning. The crucial element is the idea of “physis” borrowed by Ricoeur from Aristotle for ontological substantiation of the concept of metaphorical reality. Namely this idea that becomes the key to recoding of the philosophical system of R. Rorty to what can be called full realism in the philosophical sense. As a result of application of the idea of “physis” to Rorty's philosophy, the author finds the way to saturate the concept of reality with certain ontological content; however, this content is not susceptible to structural description, and thus does not allow solving the problem of cognitive opacity of language characteristic to Rorty's philosophy. Nevertheless, the application of P. Ricoeur’s concept of metaphorical truth to the philosophical system of R. Rorty in the context of ontological problem of accessing reality is the original tactic of reasoning that has not been previously implemented within the scientific and philosophical circles. Although one of the advanced hypothesis that suggests the possibility of substantiation of the cognitive opacity of language was being refuted, the concept of P. Ricoeur allowed saturating the concept of reality of the American philosopher with the ontological content.