Abstract

The article discusses Rorty’s approach to Kant and Hegel. Rorty sees Kant as a foundationalist and representationalist. Hegel, by contrast, is viewed as a historicist. It is argued that Kant’s view differs substantively from that of Rorty’s reading, which is very “Lockean.” There are deeper continuities between Kant and Hegel that Rorty ignores. Moreover, Hegel’s system prevents him from adopting a wholesale historicist view along the lines presented by Rorty. The final section presents a Hegelian critique of Rorty’s conception of experiential intake.