ABSTRACT
In the Conclusion, the author elucidates the far-reaching implications of his argument by stating that pragmatist humanism is of contemporary significance since it offers one the possibility of appreciating how pragmatism, humanism, anti-authoritarianism, and postmetaphysics are linked. Bringing together epistemological humanism and what might be termed poetic humanism, pragmatist humanism demonstrates how the modern antirepresentationalist and antifoundationalist story of progress and emancipation is connected with the development from finding to making and how it continues, in a truly stimulating manner, the project of the Enlightenment. In the Conclusion, however, the author not only summarizes his argument but also offers brief discussions of the later Heidegger and the later Wittgenstein. It is argued that a pragmatist humanist would be disinclined to regard Heidegger as the first truly postmetaphysical thinker. The Conclusion also shows that Robert Brandom’s idea that the only authority we should appeal to is that manifested in social practices is a lesson that Wittgenstein teaches. The latter’s final work, On Certainty, is of primary interest in this context.
