Essay Questions

How does language impact the world?

Rorty expounds, “The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs. But it cannot propose a language for us to speak. Only other human beings can do that. The realization that the world does not tell us what language games to play should not, however, lead us to say that a decision about which to play is arbitrary." Language shapes human being's perception and interpretation of the world. Besides, language dictates interactions between people depending on the words which are employed during communication. Through the interactions, the world is shaped. Therefore, although the world does not communicate, it is impacted directly through the language which is used in describing it.

What is the ideology in Philip Larkin’s poem which Rorty cites in his work?

In the poem, Larkin writes, “And once you have walked the length of your mind, what/ You command is as clear as a lading-list/ …We half-identify the blind impress/ All our behavings bear, may trace it home./ But to confess, /On that green evening when our death begins,/ Just what it was, is hardly satisfying,/ Since it applied only to one man once, /And that man dying.” The poem explores the inherent dread of being extinct. However, the fear should not be overwhelming because death is inescapable for all humanity. The fear cannot contribute to averting death for any human.

Describe shortcomings of Nietzsche’s theory of the “new.”

Rorty explains, “Although Nietzsche is full of talk about a "new day," a "new way," a "new soul," a "new man,"…Nietzsche is a confusing, instructive study in the tension between these two demands - a tension which comes out in the strain the attempt to see himself as world-historical put on Nietzsche's boundless sense of humor.” Nietzsche endorses a theory which promotes tension between being new and self-consciousness. Following the theory would leave one in a dilemma. Accordingly, the theory may not be easily implemented. Being new is not an attainment which one can accomplish effortlessly.