Philosophy and Multiculturalism: Searle, Rorty, and Taylor Essay

Philosophy and Multiculturalism: Searle, Rorty, and Taylor ABSTRACT: John Searle opposes multiculturalism because he views it as part of a movement to undermine the concepts of truth and objectivity in the Western tradition. Richard Rorty disagrees with Searle about the relation between philosophical theories of truth and academic practices, but he is neutral on the issue of multiculturalism. Charles Taylor approaches the issue historically, defending multiculturalism as emerging from one branch of liberal political theory. I argue that the debate over epistemological and political issues has tended to obscure the educational benefits of multiculturalism. A multicultural curriculum works very well in fulfilling the traditional goals of education in philosophy. It can assist the teacher as Socratic "midwife" and "gadfly" in delivering students from their narrow and uncritical opinions and awakening them to a world of intellectual diversity. Thus, multiculturalism is not so much a recent movement as a new name for an old method of teaching. Philosophers have been slow to join the public debate on multiculturalism in spite of the important philosophical issues at stake. Notable exceptions are John Searle and Charles Taylor, who address the philosophical implications of the controversy over the curriculum in several recent essays. (1) Taylor defends multicultural education as a moral imperative of one branch of the liberal tradition, while Searle argues that a victory for multiculturalism would mean the destruction of the Western intellectual heritage. This paper will examine some of the arguments on both sides of the issue and propose an interpretation of multiculturalism as particularly significant for teaching philosophy. ... ...Recognition," in Multiculturalism. Amy Gutmann, ed. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 25-73. (2) "Rationality and Realism. . .," p. 69. (3) "The Storm over the University," p. 112. (4) Richard Rorty, "Does Academic Freedom Have Philosophical Presuppositions: Academic Freedom and the Future of the University," Academe (Nov.-Dec. 1994), p. 52. (5) Ibid., p. 61. (6) "Rationality and Realism . . .," p. 71. (7) Richard Rorty, "Hermeneutics, General Studies, and Teaching," Selected Papers from the Synergos Seminars, volume 2 (Fall, 1982), p. 112. (8) "The Politics of Recognition," pp. 69-72. (9) Ibid., p. 66. (10) Ibid., p. 70. (11) Ibid., p. 73. (12) For an exception see Lawrence Foster and Patricia Herzog, eds. Philosophical Perspectives on Pluralism and Multiculturalism (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1994).