Richard Rorty: Contingency, Irony and Solidarity / chapter 8

Richard Rorty: Contingency, Irony and Solidarity
Chapter 8 - The Last Intellectual in Europe: Orwell on Cruelty
Rorty reads Orwell — particularly in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Homage to Catalonia — as the exemplary liberal: someone who understood that cruelty is the worst thing we do, and that our descriptions of it matter enormously. He defends Orwell against the charge that his anti-utopianism is defeatist, arguing instead that keeping cruelty visible is itself a vital political act. Winston Smith's fate is read as a warning about what happens when our private experience is destroyed.

Who are we?
We're a reading group that welcomes all - young, old, completely new to philosophy or well versed, from keen students to those who've never darkened the door of a lecture room. We read both long & short texts, but you don't need to join at the very start of our longer reads - you can come along at any stage of the journey. Our conversations are lively, wide-ranging & respectful.

We usually head to the pub to continue the discussion after our meetings.