The sort of intellectual Rorty prefers, then, is one who makes herself familiar with as many vocabularies and language games as possible by acquainting herself with as many novels and ethnographies as she can get her hands on. In doing so, this intellectual becomes an “ironist” about her own vocabulary, recognizing it as a contingent product of the time and place in which she was born. Furthermore, Rorty asserts, in his desired post-metaphysical culture, “novels and ethnographies which sensitize one to the pain of those who do not speak our language must do the job which demonstrations of a common human nature were supposed to do.”

That is, the job of building human solidarity. Hence [...] one doesn’t refute [a] world-view; one offers a redescription of the world which makes their description look untenable. [...] the properly ironist intellectual, with her wide range of acquaintance, will have read too many novels and ethnographies to fall for a vocabulary which imagines itself to have some privileged relationship to Truth, and which ignores the pain of others.

[For lack of a better word, I'll adopt Rorty's "ironist" as a description of a sort of worldly outlook on life embracing such humanist values and goals as the old "liberté, égalité, fraternité."]

I sometimes think about the best ways for parents, or society, to nurture and sustain this sort of worldview in children/new members. There doesn’t seem to be any way short of constant dialog, and encouraging the sort of “widely read” person as an ideal.

I am thinking of this as I read Yes Means Yes and idly think of my nieces and nephews and how it sometimes seems everyone entering adolescence should be exposed to books like these, and frank talk, and perhaps be a bit more enlightened and empowered and free than we were given the opportunity to be.

Personally, I feel I spent a lot of time in life looking just for what felt best to me, and surrounding myself with that. This may tie in to general cultural beliefs that there is one Right way “out there somewhere” and that it’s good to look for that, rather than just seeking out a lot of different ways to become acquainted with them. It could also just be that most humans tend to stick to what’s comfortable unless pressured.

And I’m losing track of my thoughts now so I’ll just trail off and say “food for thought” or something and perhaps revisit notions of “nurturing an ironist appetite as opposed to Truth-seeking” at a later date.