Zizek vs Rorty? The limits of pragmatism?

In that case, I'm a pragmatist who agrees with Zizek on this issue. Just as Nietzsche would. Or call me post-pragmatist if you like.
Or rather: This is where it would be wise for pragmatists to not ignore the wisdom of Hegel.
Otherwise they risk getting too naive about how language actually functions. Too autistic.
Ushta
Alexander

2010/8/16 Special Kain


Dear Alexander
"Livsåskådning" is "Lebenseinstellung" in German: one's attitude towards life that shapes our feelings, thoughts, words and actions.
It is exactly Richard Rorty who rejected the idea that philosophy was at the innermost core of our lives (please also see Martin Heidegger). And it is Slavoj Zizek who strongly rejected Rorty's stance for ignoring the ideology at work in an allegedly post-ideological society. So the two thinkers take a radically different stance.

Ushta,
Dino

--- Alexander Bard schrieb am Mo, 16.8.2010:

Von: Alexander Bard
Betreff: [Ushta] Mazdayasna vs Zoroastrianism (Comparisons of The Mazdaist, Jafareyite and Parsi views)
An: Ushta@yahoogroups.com
Datum: Montag, 16. August, 2010 10:15 Uhr


Dear Friends

Swedish has a beautiful word "livsåskådning" (I believe there is a similar word in German, perhaps Dino can help us with that?) which perfectly illustrates what Zoroastrianism or Mazdayasna is to me. Unfortunately the word can not be translated to English (freely translated the word would mean somehting akin to "having and oracticing a view on the conditions of existence". The problem here is not our concept of what Mazdayasna is or should be but rather the Ebnlish language's lack of vocabulary to describe our ambition.

And I must disagree there can be a society without philosophy: As Slavoj Zizek has explained and proven: There is always an IDEOLOGY at work in any given society, a matrix of ideas that dominate (precisely through vocabulary), and what is an ideology if not a philosophy, but merely STRONGER by operating as subconscious rather than conscious. So we can live in a society without a conscious philosophy but then only even more controlled by subconscious philosophy or rather ideology. Supersitition is the most perfect example of such subconscious philosophy. What we are doing by giving a vocabulary to philosophy (which is what Rorty would mean is the art of philosophy) is actually to DISTANCE ourselves from ideas that control us uncritically.

Ushta
Alexander