Richard Rorty transformed the discipline of philosophy during the last quarter of the twentieth century, while setting it on a new path for the twenty-first. In epistemology, the philosophy of language, culture, value, and politics, the impact of his thought is impossible to measure. Having achieved early prominence as a theorist and practitioner of analytic philosophy, Rorty directed criticism at the conventional pursuits and methods of philosophy, particularly attacking wide-spread preoccupation with questions of truth, representation, and the foundations of knowledge. He became the center of tremendous controversy, within and beyond the academy. This volume brings together many of Rorty's best critics and supporters for a comprehensive assessment of his achievement and a final defense of the views for which he became so widely known. Richard Rorty died on June 7, 2007. His contributions to this volume, in the form of an intellectual autobiography and replies to critics, are among the very last things he wrote. --