Consequences of pragtism: John Dewey, George Herbert Mead and Richard Rorty - Single View

Pragmatism still is one of the most fruitful sources of modern sociological thought. For example: the recently claimed desire for a so called "relational" sociology just means carrying coals to Newcastle as soon as pragmatism is concerned. Action theory and the conceptual acount of actions reflexivity in relation to "the self" are primary topics in the range of pragmatisms theorizing. The course will introduce, comment and reconstruct central elements of pragmatism, following classical texts written by John Dewey, George Herbert Mead and - in order to enter into some US-american version of "postmodern" thougth - by Richard Rorty. (All negotiations will be conducted in english.)

Literature (as a warming-up-irritation): Richard Rorty (1982): Overcoming the Tradition: Heidegger and Dewey, in: Rorty, R., Consequences of Pragmatism, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp.37-60. Further texts will be introduced during the constitutive course-session.