There are two relevant differences between the pragmatism of Charles S. Peirce, William James and John Dewey and Richard Rorty's neopragmatism. Firstly, pragmatism is philosophically connected to realism while Rorty's neopragmatism is deeply anti-realistic. Secondly, Rorty undermines the role experience plays on pragmatism by attaching an overwhelming theoretical value to the concept of language. Given these two main differences of approach, this paper questions the supposed continuity between the features that define original pragmatism and Rorty's neopragmatism.
Richard Rorty; Pragmatism; Neopragmatism; American philosophy