Richard Rorty, who died in 2007 at age 76, was one of the leading philosophers and public intellectuals of his generation. His books include Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979), Consequences of Pragmatism (1982), and Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989). Excerpt and full essay copyright 2016 by the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, on behalf of the University of Virginia Press.