In Step 87 of LetUsThinkAboutIt, host Ryder Richards dives into Part II of Richard Rorty’s Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989), exploring the clash between ironists and metaphysicians. Fresh off recording Step 86, Ryder unpacks Rorty’s seductive vision of the liberal ironist—a figure who privately doubts their beliefs while publicly fighting cruelty, as defined by Judith Shklar’s maxim, “cruelty is the worst thing we do.” Rorty argues language, self, and community are contingent, not grounded in eternal truths, and pits ironists, who redescribe reality with new vocabularies, against metaphysicians, like Plato and Kant, who chase a “final vocabulary” to capture reality’s essence. With direct quotes, Ryder showcases Rorty’s witty jabs at philosophy’s old guard, exposing their logical traps, like Kant’s obsession with universal reason. From Proust’s self-creation to Derrida’s playful deconstruction, Rorty celebrates private irony but insists it stay separate from public hope. Ryder pushes back, questioning whether Rorty’s neat private-public split undermines moral conviction and if his narrative-driven solidarity is too fragile against competing stories. Packed with insights and skepticism, this episode sets the stage for Part III’s dive into cruelty and solidarity. Join Ryder to tinker with your mental toolbox and question your own vocabulary!

In "Step 88: Rorty’s Solidarity," the concluding episode of our three-part series on Richard Rorty’s Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989), host Ryder Richards explores Part III, Chapters 7–9, where Rorty tackles cruelty and solidarity. Rorty argues that solidarity isn’t a universal human essence but a contingent creation, forged through imaginative identification with others’ pain via narratives like novels. We delve into vivid examples: Nabokov’s Lolita and its “tingles” of aesthetic bliss, which reveal cruelty through inattention and inspire moral empathy; Orwell’s 1984, where O’Brien’s intelligent cruelty underscores the fragility of liberal hope; and Sellars’ “we-intentions,” showing how solidarity expands “us” through shared stories, not abstract truths.

Rorty’s appeal lies in his witty, pragmatic blend of literary insight and moral hope, empowering us to craft kinder worlds without metaphysical crutches. Yet, Ryder remains skeptical, critiquing how Rorty’s vision has materialized but been subverted in 2025. While his liberal ironist thrives in self-creation and anti-cruelty movements, mimetic identities—adopting others’ vocabularies for social gain—and weaponized solidarity, where anti-cruelty fuels division, distort his utopia. This episode traces Rorty’s narrative-driven philosophy from language and selfhood to community, urging listeners to question vocabularies while imagining a broader “we.” Join us for a compelling finale to this philosophical journey, available on LetUsThinkAboutIt.

0:00 Intro

2:23 Noticing Cruelty through Narrative: Nabokov

7:18 Fragility of Liberal Hope: Orwell

11:50 Creating Solidarity: Sellars

15:48 Rorty's Legacy: subversion and capture

20:28 Outro

In the first of a three-part series on Richard Rorty’s Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989), Let Us Think About It delves into the concept of contingency.

Host Ryder Richards guides listeners through Rorty’s radical argument that language, selfhood, and liberal communities are not grounded in universal truths but are crafted through historical chance, like tools in a dynamic toolkit.

Drawing on Chapter 1, Ryder explores how language, far from mirroring reality, builds truths through evolving vocabularies, with examples like the French Revolution and Donald Davidson’s “passing theories.”
Chapter 2 reveals the self as a contingent construction, sculpted through redescriptions, as seen in Freud and Proust.
Chapter 3 examines liberal societies as experimental creations, sustained by imaginative solidarity rather than fixed foundations, referencing Isaiah Berlin and Judith Shklar.

While admiring Rorty’s vivid metaphors and provocative ideas, Ryder critiques his potentially reductive view, questioning whether freedom alone can ensure moral progress. Packed with direct quotes and punchy insights, this episode sets the stage for upcoming discussions on irony and solidarity. Tune in to rethink how we create our world with the tools of language!

Ryder Richards discusses the evolution and degradation of the concept of "good" in moral language, referencing Nietzsche, Shell, and McIntyre. Nietzsche argues that "good" originated as a term for nobility but was inverted by the oppressed into a virtue of meekness. Shell suggests that modern morality has been corrupted by utility, aligning with capitalism and democracy. McIntyre claims that modern society suffers from moral fragmentation, rendering ethical discussions incoherent. Richards ties these ideas to Orwell's 1984, emphasizing the structural collapse of language and the futility of moral progress in modern culture wars. He concludes that the concept of "good" has lost its original meaning and is now used without clear definition.

In this lecture, Ryder Richards, an artist currently based in Fort Worth, explored the intersection of art and artificial intelligence (AI), specifically focusing on a project that reimagines Salvador Dali's "Alice in Wonderland." Richards delved into public fears and misconceptions about AI, emphasizing a lack of understanding about how AI algorithms function, including generative adversarial networks (GANs) and diffusion models. By showcasing AI-generated images and discussing the differences between various AI platforms like Dolly, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion, he illustrated AI's capabilities and limitations. Richards highlighted how each platform has its strengths and weaknesses in creating art, the humorous mistakes they can make due to misunderstandings, and the importance of understanding these tools to navigate the burgeoning field of AI art effectively.

The lecture further ventured into the implications of AI in society, touching on concerns of dependency, the impact on human skills and creativity, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding AI-generated content. Richards presented a nuanced view of AI's role in art, arguing that while AI can facilitate the creative process, it also raises questions about originality, authorship, and the value of human touch in art. Through the lens of his project, which attempted to fuse AI's capabilities with the essence of Dali's work, Richards explored the challenges of using AI to replicate human creativity. He concluded by discussing the broader societal and philosophical questions AI raises, including the potential loss of human agency and the importance of storytelling in preserving humanity's unique attributes. This reflection underscored the complex relationship between technology and human creativity, suggesting that while AI can be a powerful tool, it also prompts us to reevaluate the essence of art and creativity in the digital age.

Essay, Deck and Transcript can be found at 
https://www.letusthinkaboutit.com/step-82-art-and-ai/

Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded onto the cultural scene, raising pressing questions about the role of technology in art and society. Artist and thinker Ryder Richards recently gave a lecture analyzing AI through a philosophical lens, exploring its potential promises and perils.

Richards began by taking the pulse of AI adoption, finding about a quarter to a third of attendees actively using AI for creative pursuits. With hype swirling, many came curious to know more. Richards set forth to report his findings from the AI landscape.

Weaving history, art, and philosophy, Richards traced how we arrived at this crossroads. He discussed early 20th-century visions of fusing humans and machines, driven by the worship of progress, machinery, and speed. Richards questioned assumptions of human rationality and effectiveness, asking if AI necessarily leads to worse outcomes.

Richards suggested that while AI promises to democratize creativity, it may also distance us from the personal touch of craft. He demonstrated how artists employ AI to generate variations and select results. While convenient, this process mediates the human-object bond. Richards pondered if submissions lack an imprint of humanity itself.

Examining racial and gender bias in AI datasets, Richards noted the need to peer inside “black box” algorithms. He considered whether language models actually “think” creatively. While founders exude optimism, their infighting hardly inspires confidence. With AI infiltrating emotional resonance and politics, vigilance seems vital.

Richards explored speculation that glitches enable AI creativity, just as neurological differences may have sparked human innovation. He discussed AI’s potential for independent evolution, questioning our ability to discern machine consciousness. If the future remains opaque, Richards suggested artists’ role is to absorb and share cultural truths.

Lawsuits against AI companies form growing resistance. But will profit motives trump ethics? How do we balance an accelerating economy with human dignity? As the lines blur between creator and creation, now is the time to ponder what kind of future we want to code.

https://www.letusthinkaboutit.com/step-81-kant-and-the-rise-of-subjective-realism/

Reality, belief, and the apocalypse. 0:00

• Ryder Richards discusses the demotion of reality in favor of subjectivity, exploring the tension between science and religion, and the consequences of refusing to acknowledge the apocalypse.
• Kant's false dichotomy between freedom and determinism is questioned, with a focus on the historical context of Thomas Hobbes and Galileo's views on a mechanical reality.

Kant's philosophy and its impact on understanding reality. 4:10

• Kant introduces philosophy that squares God observation conundrum.
• Kant argues that objects in reality interfere with self-governance, leading to a moral argument that demonizes reality.

Kant's philosophy and its implications. 8:46

• Ryder Richards argues that our perceptions are limited to appearances and cannot account for reality, leading to the idea of a "noble realm" beyond our understanding.
• Kant suggests that this inaccessible realm, the "nomina," contains the truth of objects beyond what we can know, but is beyond physical laws and changeable.
• Kant argues that autonomy and free will are possible despite determinism.
• Transcendental ideologies promise freedom and understanding but also introduce contradictions and limit rational contemplation.

Free will and agency in Kant's philosophy. 15:43

• Kant's philosophy on freedom vs. determinism challenged by Matthew Crawford.
• Crawford proposes meaningful choice emerges through attentive interaction with realities, not abstract visions.

Kant's philosophy and its impact on modern society. 19:45

• Ryder Richards critiques Kant's moral philosophy, arguing that it leads to self-entitlement and diluted agency.
• Ryder Richards argues that society's tendency to believe in self-important truths can lead to scapegoating and denial of implications, despite the appearance of novelty and esotericism.
• Ryder Richards argues that Kant's philosophy led to overconfidence in transcendent visions without evidence.