In 1979 Richard Rorty publishes Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, arguing that epistemology's founding image, the mind as a mirror of nature, should be abandoned and philosophy continue as conversation. Rorty, an American analytic philosopher turned apostate, becomes the movement's bridge to pragmatism and its most effective exporter.
Tagged: Postmodernism
The Event
- Date
- 1979 (exact)
- Era
- The Naming; Standard periodization of postmodern history
- Location
- Princeton; today Princeton, New Jersey
- Traditions
- Postmodernism
- Streams
- Postmodernism
- Key figures
- Richard Rorty
- Key texts
- Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature
Primary Sources
- Rorty, Richard. Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979.
Secondary Sources
- Bertens, Hans. The Idea of the Postmodern: A History. London: Routledge, 1995.
- Hassan, Ihab. The Postmodern Turn. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1987.
- Hutcheon, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism. New York: Routledge, 1988.
Provenance: HIST-1443; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.
Related on This Site
History Event
Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus
1972
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Derrida's Of Grammatology
1967
History Event
Derrida's Structure, Sign and Play lecture
1966
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Foucault's Discipline and Punish
1975
History Event
Foucault's The Order of Things
1966
History Event
Hassan's The Dismemberment of Orpheus
1971
History Event
Jencks's The Language of Post-Modern Architecture
1977
World View
Postmodernism
Postmodernism doubts every grand story that claims to explain everything; it treats truth as shaped by language, culture, and power rather than simply discovered.