Re: Foucault and pragmatism, q&a

> > I dont know how exactly Rorty is politically useful.
>
>I'm not claiming that he is. I am not overly familiar with him, but 
>my impression is that he is a hack who misunderstands the 
>philosophies with which he attempts to deal.


If you are "not overly familiar with him," I wonder if you owe it to 
yourself ... and the volume of this list ... to deal with your own 
misunderstood "impression."


>Because I find him useless, I don't make a study of him and I don't 
>join Rorty e-mail lists.


If indeed you "find him useless," I wonder if you owe it to yourself 
... and the volume of this list ... to study him.

>Dewey says that for the pragmatist, the utility of a proposal or 
>theory is judged by the likelihood that it will contribute to the 
>future conditions it seeks. Granted, Foucault's work does not 
>inherently suggest any future conditions ....

Why would you necessarily expect it to?

If Foucault is not the Dewey-eyed pragmatist is he perhaps the 
Levi-Straussean bricoleur?