postmodernism
How did postmodernism emerge?
• Premodernism: Before the 1600s, people in the West
generally believed that God (or the
transcendent/supernatural realm) furnished the basis for
moral absolutes, rationality, human dignity, and truth.
• This is expressed by the noted Christian theologian Anselm
(b. AD 1033), who said, "I believe that I may understand"
(credo ut intelligam) he spoke of a "faith seeking
understanding" (fides quaerens intellectum).
• That is, the starting point for knowledge and wisdom
was God, who provided the lens through which one could
properly interpret reality and human experience. By having
faith in God, the world could be rightly understood.
• Modernism: Then came philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650). As a
Roman Catholic, he was troubled by the philosophical skepticism and (due
to the Protestant Reformation) the theological uncertainty of his day.
• So he embarked on a "skeptical voyage" in the pursuit of absolutely
certain knowledge. As part of his project, he determined to doubt
everything: Maybe an evil genius was tinkering with his mind - or maybe
everything is an illusion.
• But he concluded that at least he knew he was doubting, which is a form
of thinking. He concluded: I think; therefore I am (or, in Latin, cogito, ergo
sum). So without realizing it, Descartes' project removed God from center
stage, replacing it with the human knower as the starting point. The effect
would be momentous.
• The rationalism of the European Enlightenment (c. 1650-1800) reflected
this shift. This period was both optimistic about human potential and
reason, but was also skeptical about church authority/state churches and
Christian doctrine ("dogma").
•
• This was just one of many modernist projects that assumed that
human dignity, truth, and reason could be preserved without God.
Besides rationalism (with its emphasis on reason), there were
Romanticism (with the emphasis on feeling), Marxism, Nazism, and
other utopian schemes that sought to displace God as the starting
point for understanding and living.
• The Jewish-Christian worldview that had deeply influenced the
West was now being challenged. This was just one of many
modernist projects that assumed that human dignity, truth, and
reason could be preserved without God.
• Besides rationalism (with its emphasis on reason), there were
Romanticism (with the emphasis on feeling), Marxism, Nazism, and
other utopian schemes that sought to displace God as the starting
point for understanding and living. The Jewish-Christian worldview
that had deeply influenced the West was now being challenged.
• Postmodernism: Then, in the wake of two World Wars, a
postmodern climate started to permeate the West. Confidence in
human progress and autonomy was shattered on the rocks of
Auschwitz and the Soviet gulags. The systems or "grand stories"
("metanarratives") of Nazism, Marxism, scientism, or rationalism
ended up oppressing "the other"—that is, those marginalized by
these systems such as Jews, capitalists, etc. These systems proved
to be total failures.
• So with postmodernism, not only was God excluded as a foundation
for making sense of reality and human experience; we cannot speak
of any universal truth, reason, or morality. We just have fragmented
perspectives.
• If the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille in Paris
(1789) stands as a picture of the shift to modernism, the fall of the
Berlin Wall exactly 200 years later (1989) symbolizes the failure of
modernism and rise of postmodernism
What is postmodernism?
•
French postmodernist Jean-François Lyotard famously claimed
modernism's end symbolized by Auschwitz, asking, "Where, after
the metanarratives, can legitimacy reside?" What is postmodernism
then? "Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as
incredulity toward metanarratives."2That is, postmodernism is
deeply skeptical about (or suspicious of) big explanatory systems or
stories.
• It is also critical of any view that claims to be neutral, unbiased, or
rational. Christian philosopher Merold Westphal observes that
modernism was characterized by the quest for
– (a) absolute certainty (think of Descartes) and
– (b) totalism - that all-embracing system ("metanarrative").3
• Modernists attempted to create "grand stories"-without reference
to God-to ground human dignity, freedom, morality, and progress
Characteristics of Postmodernism
• There is no absolute truth - Postmodernists believe that the
notion of truth is a contrived illusion, misused by people
and special interest groups to gain power over others.
• Truth and error are synonymous - Facts, postmodernists
claim, are too limiting to determine anything. Changing
erratically, what is fact today can be false tomorrow.
• Self-conceptualization and rationalization - Traditional logic
and objectivity are spurned by postmodernists. Preferring
to rely on opinions rather than embrace facts,
postmodernist spurn the scientific method.
• Traditional authority is false and corrupt - Postmodernists
speak out against the constraints of religious morals and
secular authority. They wage intellectual revolution to voice
their concerns about traditional establishment.
• Ownership - They claim that collective ownership would
most fairly administrate goods and services.
• Disillusionment with modernism - Postmodernists rue the
unfulfilled promises of science, technology, government,
and religion
• Morality is personal - Believing ethics to be relative, postmodernists
subject morality to personal opinion. They define morality as each
person’s private code of ethics without the need to follow
traditional values and rules.
• Globalization – Many postmodernists claim that national
boundaries are a hindrance to human communication. Nationalism,
they believe, causes wars. Therefore, postmodernists often propose
internationalism and uniting separate countries.
• All religions are valid - Valuing inclusive faiths, postmodernists
gravitate towards New Age religion. They denounce the exclusive
claims of Jesus Christ as being the only way to God.
• Liberal ethics - Postmodernists defend the
cause of feminists and homosexuals.
• Pro-environmentalism - Defending “Mother
Earth,” postmodernists blame Western society
for its destruction.
•
Postmodernists believe that the West’s claims of
freedom and prosperity continue to be nothing more
than empty promises and have not met the needs of
humanity.
• They believe that truth is relative and truth is up to
each individual to determine for himself.
• Most believe nationalism builds walls, makes enemies,
and destroys “Mother Earth," while capitalism creates
a “have and have not” society, and religion causes
moral friction and division among people.
• They challenge the core religious and
capitalistic values of the Western world and
seek change for a new age of liberty within a
global community.
• Many prefer to live under a global, nonpolitical government without tribal or national
boundaries and one that is sensitive to the
socioeconomic equality for all people
Postmodernism – Right and Wrong?
•
Postmodernists do not attempt to refine their
thoughts about what is right or wrong, true or
false, good or evil. They believe that there isn’t
such a thing as absolute truth.
• A postmodernist views the world outside of
themselves as being in error, that is, other
people’s truth becomes indistinguishable from
error. Therefore, no one has the authority to
define truth or impose upon others his idea of
moral right and wrong.
• Their self-rationalization of the universe and
world around them pits themselves against
divine revelation versus moral relativism.
Many choose to believe in naturalism and
evolution rather than God and creationism
Postmodernism – Politics
•
Postmodernists protest Western society’s
suppression of equal rights. They believe that the
capitalistic economic system lacks equal
distribution of goods and salary.
• While the few rich prosper, the mass populace
becomes impoverished.
• Postmodernists view democratic constitutions as
flawed in substance, impossible to uphold, and
unfair in principle