ITS A LATE 20TH-CENTURY MOVEMENT IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY CHARACTERIZED BY

BROADSKEPTICISM, SUBJECTIVISM, OR RELATIVISM;

A GENERAL SUSPICION OFREASON

BY ZYGMUNT BAUMAN, MODERNITY WITHOUT ILLUSION, THE ILLUSION BEING THE BELIEF THAT

HUMANITY CAN BE REPAIRED BY SOME ETHIC PRINCIPLE. POSTMODERNITY CAN BE SEEN IN THIS LIGHT
AS ACCEPTING THE MESSY NATURE OF HUMANITY AS UNCHANGEABLE.

IT REJECTS THE NARROW APPROACHES OF PREMODERNISM ( WAY OF KNOWING: BIBLE/REVELATION)

AND MODERNISM(WAY OF KNOWING: REASON AND EXPERIENCE) TO KNOWING AND INSTEAD ELECTED TO
ADHERE TO AN*2EPISTEMOLOGICAL PLURALISMWHICH EMBRACED MULTIPLE WAYS OF KNOWING.*1

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MODERNISM

AND POSTMODERNISM

MODERNISM
IT FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT ORDER: ABOUT RATIONALITY AND RATIONALIZATION, CREATING ORDER OUT OF
CHAOS.*1

IT URGE YOU TO STUDY AND GAIN MORE KNOWLEDGE BY USING ALL THE MATERIALS
THE MODE OF KNOWING PRODUCED BY THE OBJECTIVE RATIONAL SELF IS "SCIENCE," WHICH CAN PROVIDE
UNIVERSAL TRUTHS ABOUT THE WORLD, REGARDLESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL STATUS OF THE KNOWER.

THE KNOWLEDGE PRODUCED BY SCIENCE IS "TRUTH," AND IS ETERNAL.

THE KNOWLEDGE/TRUTH PRODUCED BY SCIENCE (BY THE RATIONAL OBJECTIVE KNOWING SELF) WILL

ALWAYS LEAD TOWARD PROGRESS AND PERFECTION. ALL HUMAN INSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICES CAN BE
ANALYZED BY SCIENCE (REASON/OBJECTIVITY) AND IMPROVED.

REASON IS THE ULTIMATE JUDGE OF WHAT IS TRUE, AND THEREFORE OF WHAT IS RIGHT, AND WHAT IS

GOOD (WHAT IS LEGAL AND WHAT IS ETHICAL). FREEDOM CONSISTS OF OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS THAT
CONFORM TO THE KNOWLEDGE DISCOVERED BY REASON.

POSTMODERNISM
THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL, OBJECTIVE MEANS OF JUDGING ANY GIVEN CONCEPT AS TRUE; ALL JUDGMENTS OF
TRUTH EXIST WITHIN A CULTURAL CONTEXT

REASON IS NO MORE UNIVERSAL THAN IS ANY OTHER CULTURES DEFINITION OF TRUTH.

SCIENCE IS IDEOLOGY.
NO ETERNAL TRUTHS, NO UNIVERSAL HUMAN EXPERIENCE, NO UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS, OVERRIDING
NARRATIVE OF HUMAN PROGRESS (FAIGLEY, 8).

DOESNT BELIEVE TO MEMORIZE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ALL HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE THEY WANT BECAUSE OF
THE INTERNET

MOST IMPORTANT VIEWPOINT OF

POSTMODERNISM AGAINST THE IDEAS
OF ENLIGHTENMENT

1. THERE IS AN OBJECTIVE NATURALREALITY, A REALITY WHOSEEXISTENCEAND

PROPERTIES ARE LOGICALLY INDEPENDENT OF HUMAN BEINGSOF THEIR MINDS, THEIR
SOCIETIES, THEIR SOCIAL PRACTICES, OR THEIR INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES.

POSTMODERNISTS DISMISS THIS IDEA AS A KIND OF

NAIVEREALISM. SUCH REALITY AS THERE IS, ACCORDING TO
POSTMODERNISTS, IS A CONCEPTUAL CONSTRUCT, AN ARTIFACT
OF SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE ANDLANGUAGE.

2. THE FURTHER THE KNOWLEDGE IS

FROM THE FOUNDATION, THE LESS
CONFIDENT WE ARE THAT IT IS TRUE.

POSTMODERNISM REJECTED THIS FOUNDATIONAL APPROACH TO KNOWLEDGE, IN PARTICULAR THE IDEA

THAT SOME TRUTH OR KNOWLEDGE IS MORE ESSENTIAL OR FOUNDATIONAL THAN OTHERS. IT WAS
REPLACED WITH WHAT HAS OFTEN BEEN DESCRIBED AS A WEB THEORY.
THIS MODEL COULD BE ILLUSTRATED AS A SPIDER WEB. EACH POINT OF CONNECTION IS A BIT OF
KNOWLEDGE. GIVEN THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE OF A SPIDER WEB, IF ANY ONE POINT WAS REMOVED OR
CHANGED, IT WOULD IMPACT ALL THE REST OF THE WEB. THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES
WOULD BE CHANGED IN RELATION TO THE CHANGE OF THIS ONE POINT. HOWEVER, THEY WOULD NOT BE
DISCOUNTED OR DISREGARDED. THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF
KNOWLEDGE WHICH REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MOST DRASTIC PARADIGM SHIFTS IN THE HISTORY OF
THOUGHT! WE SHOULD NOT UNDERESTIMATE ITS IMPORTANCE.

3. IT SHOULD BE A GOAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH TO CONSTRUCT

SUCH THEORIES, EVEN IF THEY ARE NEVER PERFECTLY ATTAINABLE IN PRACTICE.

POSTMODERNISTS DISLIKE IT BECAUSE IT IMPOSE CONFORMITY ON OTHER PERSPECTIVES OR

DISCOURSES, THEREBY OPPRESSING, MARGINALIZING, OR SILENCING THEM.

THE DESCRIPTIVE AND EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS OF SCIENTISTS AND

HISTORIANS CAN, IN PRINCIPLE, BE OBJECTIVELY TRUE OR FALSE.

 THE POSTMODERN DENIAL OF THIS VIEWPOINTWHICH FOLLOWS FROM THE REJECTION OF AN

OBJECTIVE NATURAL REALITYIS SOMETIMES EXPRESSED BY SAYING THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS
TRUTH.

CRITIQUES ON POSTMODERNISM

IN A POSTMODERN SOCIETY, KNOWLEDGE BECOMES FUNCTIONAL--YOU LEARN THINGS, NOT TO KNOW

THEM, BUT TO USE THAT KNOWLEDGE.NOT ONLY IS KNOWLEDGE IN POSTMODERN SOCIETIES
CHARACTERIZED BY ITS UTILITY, BUT KNOWLEDGE IS ALSO DISTRIBUTED, STORED, AND ARRANGED
DIFFERENTLY IN POSTMODERN SOCIETIES THAN IN MODERN ONES. SPECIFICALLY, THE ADVENT OF
ELECTRONIC COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE MODES OF KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION,
DISTRIBUTION, AND CONSUMPTION IN OUR SOCIETY . THIS IS THE REASON WHY MANY PEOPLE ARE GENIUS
ONLY ON THEIR PAPER BUT DUMB WHEN YOU QUESTION THEM BECAUSE THEY NEVER VALUE KNOWLEDGE.
THEY ONLY VALUE GRADES. THIS IS OUR CURRENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

 POSTMODERN DOESNT RELY ON FACTS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVED THROUGH SCIENCE INSTEAD THEY ONLY
RELY ON OPINION. THIS COULD LEAD TO SOME SERIOUS ACCIDENTS BECAUSE WE DONT KNOW IF THEIR
OPINION IS REAL.

 POSTMODERNISM DIDNT ADDRESS HUMAN NEEDS BECAUSE THEY ONLY HAVE CONCERNS ON THE

MEDIUM OR THOSE THINGS THAT IS USEFUL TO IT RATHER THAN ITS EFFECT. OUR CURRENT ECONOMY IS
ONE GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THIS CRITIQUE. POLITICIANS ONLY WANT IS MONEY (THE MEDIUM) AND THEY
NEVER THINK WHAT COULD BE THE EFFECT TO THE SOCIETY.

 BECAUSE IN THE POST MODERN VIEW THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES OF ANY KIND AND THERE ARE NO

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS NOR UNIVERSAL CRITERIA FOR BEAUTY AND NOR ARE THERE UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLES
OF THE GOOD. EVERYTHING WILL FALL APART. THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN CALL ORDER IN MODERNISM
WILL BE MIXED WITH DISORDER THUS THERE WILL BE A THREAT OF CHAOS.

 IN POSTMODERNISM, EVERY PERSON CAN CREATE THEIR OWN REALITY BECAUSE THEIR IS NO LONGER AN
OBJECTIVE TRUTH. THIS WOULD BE ABUSE BY SOME PEOPLE AND MAKE OTHER PEOPLE SUFFER. AN
EXAMPLE OF THIS IS ON THE NEXT SLIDE