POSTMODERN ETHICS: A MODULE OF OPENING UP The experience we have of our lives from within, the story we tell ourselves

about ourselves in order to account for what we are doing, is thus a lie -- the truth lies rather outside, in what we do. ... "Stories we tell ourselves about ourselves" serve to obfuscate the true ethical dimension of our acts. - Slavoj Zizek Modernism, for far too long promised totality, truth with a capital T, and flawless systems that came to save the day. Although, to some these might seem like sweep generalizations, altogether modernism failed. Then entered something new, something radical, something that if too easily dismissed would only entrench us (society) deeper into modernity rather than away from it. Postmodernism began as an attack against modernity, as a positive stance on the excess that lie beyond the structural framework and eventual demise that awaited the fate of modernity. For one to deny postmodernism is the same as one denying a part of their own identity because we are all part of or have grown up in the postmodern matrix. It is in us. To understand postmodernism and its ethics is to understand ourselves. It is typically inherent to us to accept what is before us without scrutiny, some might disagree, but in reality, the disagreement is a form of acceptance. Because to disagree with something is, at first, to accept it as a possibility. So, therefore, much like Zizek shares above, we have come to believe we the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Why does this matter? Because if you for so long thought you imprisoned but are truly free (ontologically speaking) then wouldn't you want to know? Or vice versa, if you thought you were free wouldn't you think it important to discover your imprisoned status to seek freedom? This module will dive into postmodernism not as something destructive (which it sometimes is characterized as) but as theologian/postmodern philosopher John Caputo states: "It is an opening up to the truth that occurs". It will explore the roots of postmodernunderstanding along with those who were prominent in the field of ethics, some include Jean Baudrillard, Michel Focault, Judith Butler, and Slavoj Zizek to name a few. Postmodern is not destructive at its core it invites us in to that which we once thought was impossible to approach. It is in a very simple sense, taking us into the inner court, where the divine word, the logos, the idea, the concept, the kernel of truth awaits our discovery. This is why we need our module to seek what we long to find - truth, and in the case, the truth in ethics. The hope is that you will not only walk away with a critical understanding of postmodern ethics, but also a critical understanding of why postmodernism is still an important asset to ethical discourse and its outcomes.