It is commonly said now that we live in a postmodern age or situation. This literally means that we no longer live in the modern age, or the age of modernity.  Some of my thoughts have been described (by myself and AC-1) as being postmodern. What does this entail? The following is a brief outline of the major principles. But first a caveat: in common with the applicable definition of postmodernism, my explanation is but one of many, supporters (Jacques Derrida) and opponents (Richard Dawkins) alike may offer a differing description to the one that I provide.

Why Postmodernity. This is a reference to the abandonment of modernity, which occured through a loss of confidence in its values. This loss of confidence followed instances of global trauma that blighted the 20th century; fascism, communism, world war, terrorism, the holocaust, ethnic cleansing, nuclear weapons, pollution, the unjust effects of science and industry, trivialisation of life, racism and sexism. Postmodernism infers that modernity took an arrogant view of premodernity that was unjustified and wrong. It explicitly states that: Change does not mean Progress. Postmodernism has directed a near revolutionary suspicion towards three facets of human existence.

  • Our collective understanding of ourselves in history.
  • Our personal understanding of ourselves.
  • The values of Reason and Rationality.

We, Ourselves, in History. Multiple areas of thought (including Philosophy, Theology, History, Science, Literature etc.) have attempted to make sense of life in the context of an overarching history or drama. “The story of man”. Such stories take the form of metanarratives, take for example the Marxist critique of Capitalism, or the Christian concept of the consummation of history. These stories share one thing in common, namely that human history is a story of progress and improvement. Culminating in the idea that the modern is a better time and place to be than the pre-modern or the primitive. And that those cultures and societies that are yet to be fully modernised (pre-industrial) are primitive and inferior, have nothing to teach us and would be better off modernising and embracing science, capitalism, democracy, marxism, monotheism or whatever value system is in vogue.

Postmodernists suspect that such metanarratives are devices whereby the powerful impose views of reality which serve their own interests. Consider the motivations for the U.S. led invasion of Iraq; both those publicly expressed (regime change/weapons of mass destruction) and those privately suspected by the common person (oil, increased funding to the defence industry). The Postmodernist (similar to and in common with the Existentialist) lay their stress upon the fragmentary and absurd nature of experience and history.

Who am I, the Self? The notion of a coherent and identifiable self is rejected. And a fragmentary interpretation is adopted. Me, I, the Self are terms we use to attempt to describe differing pressures that affect our experience of life; historically by ones genetic inheritance, internally by virtue of your unconscious and subconscious mind, and externally by virtue of coincidence and circumstanc. Thus the idea of who I am, and of what constitutes the self, differs from person to person, across continents, and over time. Me, I and the Self are therefore arbitrary and unfixed inventions.

Knowledge is Power. One of the fundamental expressions of postmodernity is its suspicion and loss of confidence in reason and rationality. It is seen (like the metanarrative) as an exercise in control and domination. Rational argument and debate are seen as weapons of manipulation, that can easily be used by powerful groups for the furtherance of their own ends. Such groups control education, the direction of academic research, the means of communication. These groups use rationality and reason to establish criteria as to what counts as knowledge, who can be considered authoritative (consider the case of scientific ‘experts’ being called to give witness in legal proceedings, particularly where two experts disagree) and what is regarded as being conceivable or even true.

Postmodernists pay particular attention to language. Does it refer to reality (picture theory of words, Wittgensteins Tractatus) or is it rhetoric in the service of power and control (propaganda, Wittgensteins Language Games). The problem with language is that without an ability to identify reality and to create a trustworthy shared world of meaning, reasoning is impossible.

Consequences of Postmodernity. Include the rehabilition of premodernism and so called primitive societies. Consequently this results in an interdisciplinary ‘method’ of thinking. And ultimately provides a critique that challenges the notion that change is progress and that we should always be on-guard against a cultural superiority complex.