The Contradictory Perception of F. Nietzsche’s Ideas by Postmodernism Using the Example of R. Rorty’s Theory

The article delves into the intricacies of how postmodernist theorists perceive and creatively utilize Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical heritage. Using the theories of American analytic philosopher, pragmatist, and postmodernist Richard Rorty as a focal point, it elucidates the conflicting and ambiguous interpretations of key concepts such as the crisis of culture, metaphysics, the ubermensch (overman), and others. Postmodernists, in their idiosyncratic endeavors, creatively appropriate the legacies of their predecessors, including F. Nietzsche. For Rorty and some other modern thinkers, Nietzsche becomes not a model, but an irritant and motivator, based on which new, avant-garde discourses about the world, society and man are modeled. Richard Rorty’s inquiries, however, inadequately encapsulate Nietzsche’s legacy in both his envisaged model of the forthcoming “post-philosophical” culture and from the perspectives of Rorty himself and some of his critics. The comprehensive legacy of Friedrich Nietzsche thus eludes Rorty’s studies, challenging his proposed model of future culture and inviting critique from various quarters.