To Be One of Us

In the context of the growing debate over the relationship between humanities education and the future of liberal democracy, To Be One of Us surveys in dialectical fashion several contemporary humanist thinkers, and analyzes their diverse philosophical positions in relation to John Dewey's claim that "creative democracy" is the "task before us." The cultural roots of these diverse positions are compared on the basis of their normative conceptions of moral authority.The first section of the text contains analyses of Allan Bloom's conservative platonism, and of several critiques of his discourse of crisis. The second section is an exploration of Rorty's liberal pragmatism and its implications for education and democracy, and of the critique of Rorty which emanates from his political left. Finally, West's "prophetic pragmatism" is examined, and presented as the philosophical position best suited to "creative democracy," given prevailing social, economic, and political realities.