Richard Rorty (Contingency, irony, and solidarity):

"Ironists are afraid that they will get stuck in the vocabulary in which they were brought up if they only know the people in their own neighbourhood, so they try to get acquainted with strange people (Alcibiades, Julien Sorel), strange families (the Karamazovs, the Casaubons), and strange communities (the Teutonic Knights, the Nuer, the mandarins of the Sung)."

"The liberal ironist just wants our chances of being kind, of avoiding the humiliation of others, to be expanded by redescription."

"What matters for the liberal ironist is… making sure she notices suffering when it occurs."