Rockmore is a strong critic of
representationalism in
epistemology. This is the view that the mind has access to external reality via copies of that reality that the mind receives from the object. It assumes a
metaphysical realism, in which there is an external reality independent of the knower. Instead, Rockmore argues for a constructivist view on the basis of which the mind, on the basis of its experience, forms concepts and ideas that become the basis of its knowledge. This shift has significant consequences for phenomenology, aesthetics, and political philosophy. It further questions the transcendental claims particularly of early phenomenology. As a historian of philosophy, Rockmore shows how
German idealism influenced the development of both continental and analytic philosophy. He claims that Marx, in particular, was influenced by the thought of Kant, Schelling, Fichte, and Hegel. However, he argues that Marx's thought was significantly misunderstood by
Engels, whose influence lead to the development of versions of
Marxism inconsistent with much in Marx's original thinking. Rockmore's
political philosophy focuses on the effect of representational thinking on certain ideological strains that cause problematic political decisions in both Western and non-Western states. Rockmore has also published on
aesthetics. == Selected bibliography ==