https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/W_MA_TEXTThe student acquires the ability to:Understand and explain core concepts and ideas on Pragmatism, Postmodernism, Metamodernism and Modernism;Read, analyze, and interpret ground-breaking and influential philosophical texts;Apply the concepts and ideas to their discipline.Evaluate a philosophical concept or idea, compare it to other ideas, and develop a position towards it; argue philosophically, orally, and in writing.ChatGPT once described Rorty's neo-pragmatism to me as "postmodernism with a human face". It gives up on the search for ultimate universal foundations but keeps faith in community, hope, and progress. This might also be a thoughtful way of putting a notion that has gained traction in the last ten years: Metamodernism. Metamodernism is one way to think about our current age of Post-Postmodernism and the "New Sincerity". The main question I want to discuss with you in this course is the role of truth, morality, and final justifications in the age of AI and filter bubbles, and whether we can understand neo-pragmatism as anticipating the metamodernism of today. If all of this sounds a bit cryptic to you, then I hope that at the end of this course, you will be an expert in discussing the perhaps deepest and most important question of all – what is truth, and do we need it in a post-truth metamodern era of TikTok and Donald Trump? This is a text reading course, so we will approach this topic by reading challenging philosophical texts. I believe reading neo-pragmatists like Rorty in response to Habermas and other "modern" philosophers like Putnam is the best route to understanding the 20th and 21st century debate on truth that happened mainly in Europe (Lyotard, Derrida, Foucault). Continental philosophy was taken up by Rorty in the 80s and 90s and introduced to American audiences. Rorty has gained new relevance in the post-truth era. Hence, we will mainly read Rorty. So, this course aims to introduce you to the philosophical school of Pragmatism and its relation to the postmodern and metamodern condition we live in. As the name suggests, Pragmatists place special focus on social practices and questions of practical relevance. For example, Pragmatists tend to reject certain notions of truth where whether a statement is true or false will make no practical difference. But whether we can do without truth entirely is still being debated.Interactive lectures, Supervised group work, and group discussionsWe discuss applications for law, bio-ethics, and neuroscienceGroup reading and presentations, workshop styleAt the focus lies the reading of texts, and I will try to assist you in ways to better approach reading them...Student Paper (70%): 3000 words: One claim, One argument about Pragmatism or Rorty's book, ideally something that connects it to your own fieldPresent your Essay Topic (10%): Summarise your claim and argument in two short paragraphs.Short Presentation (20%): of the Chapter or paper's main claim and argument. Prepare a handout or slides, which is part of your gradeTexts will be made available on Canvas.Students in the Master's programme Philosophy (2 years).The four general (not track-dependent) courses of the first year of the master programme. Must have watched the 1999 movie The Matrix. Ideally, also American Psycho.Course description and detailed program will be published on Canvas two weeks before the start of the course.