René Vincente Arcilla is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

• Preface 1. Is the Desire for Liberal Education Metaphysical? 2. The Problem with Metaphysics: The Epistemology of Resentment 3. From Epistemology to Conversation 4. From Consciousness to Edification 5. Conversational Edification, Liberalism, and Cultural Antagonism 6. Disarming Culture through the Perfectionist Love of Liberal Learning

"In the process of developing his argument he [Arcilla] provides an insightful examination of Rorty's ideas, and their philosophical roots and educational implications...Arcilla does an exceptionally fine job of providing the reader with an understanding of the American anti-epistemological tradition, which (together with Nietzsche) Rorty draws on." -- Teachers' CollegeRecord