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Postmodern Essay Questions
1. Do you agree that postmodernism is a dangerous deception? Why or why not?
2. Do contemporary media promote or erase boundaries? Explain.
3. Explain relativism.
4. Explain the “Sokal Affair“.
5. Briefly define five “buzzwords” and use them in a paragraph.
6. Give examples of linear and circular reasoning.
A final point should be made. You may have noticed that postmodernism is anti-order, anti-boundaries, anti-logic, anti-reality, anti-oppression, anti-government, anti-science, and anti-religion: so it is against many things, but for very little. This is a philosophy that fosters paranoia and schizophrenia, while darkening, rather than illuminating the mind and spirit. It is a negative, hopeless philosophy – after all, we are merely products of our environment; helpless, exploited subjects. Unaware that we are being exploited, we are doomed to a meaningless life and a meaningless death. Yow, suicide, anyone?
In summary, postmodernism is a dangerous deception. Despite its lack of a valid foundation, it is being taught in colleges and public school systems throughout the country and the world. The importance of a firm foundation is described by Jesus in Luke 6:48: “He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock.” Alternatively, he describes the consequences of a lack of foundation in Luke 6:49: “But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." (WEB).
Postmodernism is particularly dangerous because most people are unfamiliar with either the term or the philosophy, which lets it quietly invade like a cancer. Its fuzzy definition and lack of substance actually contribute to its spread – what defense is there against elusiveness? For these reasons, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the two lists of postmodern buzzwords presented earlier.
Familiarity with these words accomplishes several objectives, the first being identification – postmodern philosophy is identified when these buzzwords are being used. Once identified, a combat strategy to present truth can be developed. The second objective accomplished is preparedness - it‘s difficult to counter words that are unfamiliar or have a different than usual meaning. The third is development of skills necessary to engage in a conversation by either defining the buzzwords or stipulating that others define them. In discussion, it’s essential to keep defining and translating the buzzwords into “normal” language, especially when others are present who may not be familiar with them. When others understand that “metanarrative” is “worldview“, and “hegemony” is “dominance“, and so on, truth can then slice through the tangled tendrils of jargon. If we fail to confront postmodern fallacies, we concede that our children and youth will be taught, at best, nonsense, and at worst, despair.
To reiterate, without truth, we can’t know reality. Outside of reality, goodness, order, justice, and mercy can’t exist. The prophets of long ago knew this:
“So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey”
(Isaiah 59:14, 15, NIV).
Pauline Donnelly, May 1, 2007
REFERENCES
1. Clapp, R. (1996). A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Post-Christian Society. InterVarsity Press®.
2. CNN.com. (2004, March 2). “Young America’s News Source: Jon Stewart”. Retrieved May 9, 2007 from www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/02/apontv.stewarts.stature.ap
3. Homepage, Joseph Campbell Foundation© . Retrieved 5/28/07 from www.jcf.org/bliss.php
4. Jameson, F. (1988). “Postmodernism and Consumer Society“. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.
5. Klages, M. (Last revised December 12, 2001). “Postmodernism“. Retrieved February, 2007 from www.colorado.edu/English/ENGL2012Klages/pomo.html. Introduction to the concept by Mary Klages of the University of Colorado. All materials on this site are written by, and remain the property of, Dr. Mary Klages, Associate Professor of English, University of Colorado, Boulder. You are welcome to quote from this lecture, or link this to your own site, with proper attribution and citation.
6. Lyotard, J. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. (ISBN 0-8166-1173-4)
7. McDowell, J. (1999). The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
8. McLaren, B. (2004, February). Letter from Chuck Colson. Retrieved 5/5/07 from http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/archives/000160.html
9. Mohler, A. (1997, Spring). Ministry is Stranger than it Used to Be: The Challenge of Postmodernism. Quoted in Josh McDowell’s The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict.
10. Sokal, A. and Bricmont, J. (1998). Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of Science. (ISBN 0-312-20407-8)
11. Turner, T. (1995, December 1). City as Landscape: A Post Post-modern View of Design and Planning. Taylor and Francis, 1st Edition.
12. Veith Jr., G. (1994). Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture. (ISBN 0-89107-768-5. Quoted in Josh McDowell’s The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
13. Videotaped Testimony of William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States,
Before the Grand Jury Empaneled for Independent C
ounsel Kenneth Starr. (August 17, 1998; released September 21, 1998). Jurist: The Law Professors’ Network. Retrieved May 27, 2007 from http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/transcr.htm
14. Wikipedia. “Postmodernism”. Retrieved March 2007 from www.wikipedia.org
15. Wokler, R. (2000, March). “Isaiah Berlin’s Enlightenment and Counter-Enlightenment”. PDF retrieved May 9, 2007 from www.ceu.hu/jewishstudies/pdf/02_wokler.pdf – ii
Boundaries and Art
I didn’t want to spend much time on art, but in the past 30 years or so, there have been some important changes in art that have affected our culture and society (and vice versa). These changes range across the spectrum from simply what is mannerly to what is right and wrong. The most obvious change that I have observed, and one that drives many of the other changes, is in the erasing of boundaries seen particularly in the entertainment and news media. Celebrities have become art, or icons, and their appearance and actions are mimicked, especially by our youth. The increasing lack of restraint shown by the rich and famous numbs the mind while sending the message that “anything goes”.
As morality is being blurred in and by the media, reality is being blurred by the collage or bricolage of styles and historical periods. For example, a story about a fictional warrior might contain scenes from his purported historical era, but also have Druid characters and Babylonian goddesses who traditionally or historically existed in a different time and place. The result is a hodgepodge of unrelated characters, some historical, some fictional, existing in a historical land and time that never existed. History (truth) is just disregarded. This may not seem particularly important, but when you realize that children are raised on this type of entertainment, you see why they have difficulty sorting historical fact from fiction. Understanding the past is essential for understanding the present and the future. It’s been said that you have to remember where you’ve been to really know who you are, where you are, and where you‘re going. This has implications for nations as well as individuals.
Of course, these historical inaccuracies may also be due to ignorance. Since other boundaries are crumbling, such as those defining accuracy and reliability, ignorance may follow as a natural consequence. This was evident when, in 2004, CNN’s news website reported that the primary news source for 21% of young adults under 30 in the U.S. was The Daily Show, which is a parody of the news, or comedy! The executive producer of the show, Ben Karlin, could see the absurdity of this and felt that watching real news was necessary to be well informed. He based this on a Pew Research survey that showed that “people who regularly learned news from the comedy shows were less likely to know basic facts of the [Presidential] campaign.”
So-called documentaries like Fahrenheit 911, on the other hand, are no more than blatant propaganda. So, again, truth doesn’t matter and reality is being blurred. Combine this with the inability of children to think analytically, linearly, and critically, and you have a reality crisis!
Frederic Jameson believes this denial of history is due to a pathological inability to perceive time. He feels that this results from the constant media bombardment with images that have little relationship to one another. News happens quickly and frequently, and is promptly forgotten. He believes this has caused a distortion of time and history (and reality, I suspect).
As for boundaries in separating Christian culture from others, postmodernism may have paradoxically strengthened them. Rodney Clapp discusses postmodernism in his book A Peculiar People: The Church as Culture in a Postmodern Society. He sees the Church as separated from contemporary culture, being instead “its own culture.” Since postmodernism, even more than modernism, rejects Christian thinking, there is now a more obvious difference between the Church and the world, which is as it should be: “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2, WEB).
Summary of Boundaries and Worldviews
Christian
Distinction between God and created beings, man and angels, man and animals
Desire not to be conformed to the popular culture – rather to transform the culture
Different designs = different functions
Modern:
Boundaries necessary for order
Some boundaries should be challenged
Science and technology can remove boundaries
Postmodern:
Collage of styles, eras
Rejection of boundaries
Reality is an illusion
Inability to perceive time in a healthy manner
Mary Klages summarizes that
“postmodern things are ‘a big jumbled mess‘ out of which order does not arise…a smorgasbord, as bricolage, as collage, or as pastiche: a seemingly random collection of events, actions, signifiers, or ideas which do not coalesce.” Her description of postmodern art/literature captures its characteristics: “… a blurring of distinctions between genres, so that poetry seems more documentary (as in T.S. Eliot or ee cummings) and prose seems more poetic (as in Woolf or Joyce).” She adds that there is “…emphasis on the destructured, decentered, dehumanized subject.” Comparing modernism to postmodernism, she states, “Postmodernism, in contrast, doesn’t lament the idea of fragmentation, provisionality, or incoherence, but rather celebrates that. The world is meaningless? Let’s not pretend that art can make meaning then, let’s just play with nonsense.” (Emphasis added).
If this doesn’t sound to you like there’s nothing there, as in the old fairytale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, read on
The criticism of Postmodernism as rhetorical gymnastics, which are ultimately meaningless, are demonstrated in the Sokal Affair, where Alan Sokal, a physicist, wrote a deliberately nonsensical article purportedly about interpreting physics and mathematics in terms of postmodern theory, which was nevertheless published by the Social Text, a journal which he and most of the scientific community considered
as postmodernist. Interestingly, Social Text never acknowledged that the article’s publication was a mistake, but supported a counter-argument defending the "interpretative validity" of Sokal’s false article, despite the author’s rebuttal of his own article. (Wikipedia).
In “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, pride (or hubris to the postmodernist) and fear prevented anyone from telling the Emperor or the “tailors” that no one could actually see their wondrous cloth. It was the honest observation of a small child that finally triggered a reality check, exposing the scam. But alas, the damage was done: the tailors made off with a lot of ill-gotten money; the Emperor made a fool of himself; and his subjects lost respect for him. In the fairytale, this was the end of the story. In real life (yes, there is such a thing) there would probably have been disruptive, perhaps destabilizing consequences for the kingdom resulting from the Emperor’s inability to perceive reality.
Summary of Art and Worldviews
Christian:
Traditionally has glorified God and His Creation
Attempts at true representation
Modern:
Provocative
Expressive
Glorifies the individual
Strives for originality
Postmodern
Collages
Pastiche
No boundaries
About feelings
Nothing is original but copies
Postmodern Buzzwords 2
Bliss
Bricolage
Circular thinking/reasoning
Collage
Digitalization
Hubris
Income redistribution
Late capitalism
Linear thinking/reasoning
Pastiche
Rhizome
Christian culture is based on traditional values; subsequently there is always the tension between being a follower of Jesus and engaging in the popular culture. Modernism likes the order inherent in tradition, but chafes against tradition for tradition’s sake. Religion is perceived, for the most part, in opposition to science. Since the reality of the postmodernism culture is subjective, rules and boundaries may be rejected as meaningless, especially when inconvenient. As an example, cheating is on the rise in educational institutions and in the job market. It is seen by many as necessary ‘to get ahead” and not a serious infraction. When the shoe is on the other foot, however, as when a competing job candidate lands a job because he embellished his resume, there is an indignant reaction from the losing candidate, due in part to the sudden realization that a wrong has been committed.
As for traditional religions, they are frequently viewed with suspicion by the postmodernist, and “fundamentalists” are seen as fanatical and downright dangerous. A fundamentalist may include anyone who is firm in their faith. Religions with a hierarchal structure are seen as the most oppressive. Many Christian beliefs, such as the concept of Hell, are rejected as intolerant. A subjective “spirituality” with few limits, such as with New Age religions, is seen as an attractive alternative. Atheism and existentialism are also more common among postmodernists.
This attitude towards religion, I feel, is understandable to some extent. Christianity tends to periodically gravitate towards rules and traditions, rather than focusing on being a follower of Christ. This is what Jesus warned against in Mark 7:8: "For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men…” (WEB). When this happens, the cold emptiness of dead faith drives away both the believer and the seeker. Hostility to religion is also fueled in part by lack of sound teaching of our youth, and negative media coverage of religion.
In my opinion, the increasingly negative attitude towards religion is motivated, to some degree, by the attempt to “follow your bliss“. This charge originated with Joseph Campbell, influential writer and teacher of mythology. According to the website for the Joseph Campbell Foundation, “bliss” comes from “ananda”, a Sanskrit word that can also mean “rapture”. It seems that originally, he was encouraging people to pursue their life’s passion, but “follow your bliss” has become an exhortation to live a hedonistic lifestyle, regardless of consequences. Through Campbell’s writings and interviews a fuzzy spiritualism is revealed, along with some hostility to Christianity. The hostility to Christianity may be necessary when “following bliss” because bliss is more readily attained when morality and reality are out of the picture. Harsh realities, in particular, are not good for bliss. I saw a somewhat comical example of this on TV, when a wife complained that her husband only sporadically worked (for beer) instead of trying to provide for her and their children. When confronted, he replied that he didn’t want to work fulltime because “it might harsh my mellow”. In other words, finding work and fulfilling his obligations would force him to face an uncomfortable, inconvenient, bliss-killing reality.
Summary of Culture and Worldviews
Christian:
Order is desirable
Traditional values
Desire not to be conformed to the popular culture – rather to transform the culture
Modern:
Order is rational and good
Tradition is stifling
Expression is healthy
Technology improves quality of life
Faith and science are opposed
Postmodern:
Rejection of rules & boundaries
Order is oppressive
Institutions are oppressive
Religion is dangerous
Find bliss
Diversity
Money and Economics
The Christian worldview about money includes more than a few important points: God is our provider; we are merely stewards of His money; wealth is a reward for hard work and righteousness, but greed is seen as leading to evil; charity should be shown to those less fortunate; idleness is discouraged; wages and market weights/scales should be fair; workers should not be oppressed; usury is discouraged.
Some modernists reject capitalism as oppressive, seeing Marxism instead as supporting the common worker and the disenfranchised. On the other hand, consumer capitalism and conspicuous consumption have been embraced during the modern era.
The postmodern economy is a global economy, associated with outsourcing and free trade agreements. The downside is that consumer demand for inexpensive items can promote exploitation of workers overseas, and eliminate local jobs. Prosperity is seen as somewhat suspect, especially as experienced in larger, more dominant nations. More locally, this idea of unmerited prosperity is related to the concept of “income redistribution” which is growing in popularity in the US. This is the feeling that “rich” companies and socioeconomic groups (which may include the middle class), should be more heavily taxed so that others (not necessarily the indigent or helpless) might reap the benefits of social services or additional employee benefits funded with this money. There are several problems with this idea. First, it removes the incentive for individuals (the more heavily taxed) to work, and secondly, it removes the incentive for companies to invest or hire new employees. As an example, if additional employee benefits are mandated for employers, employers hire fewer employees to compensate for the expense. This is obviously a complex subject that can’t be fully discussed in this article.
On the other hand, there is a postmodern distrust of consumerism that extends also to global consumerism. In fact, all economic systems are distrusted and viewed as oppressive.
Marxist and literary critic Fredric Jameson associates postmodernism with “late capitalism“ in many of his writings. His views about late capitalism cannot be fully explored here, but are associated with the decline of institutions and the breakdown of previous economic systems.
Summary of Economics and Worldviews
Christian:
Hard work is rewarded
Wages should be fair
Greed is a sin
Charity to those less fortunate
Modern:
Science = progress and mass production
Consumerism
Unionism
Capitalism is oppressive
Marxism is superior
Postmodern:
Globalization
Anti-globalization
Consumerism is a trap
Income redistribution
All systems are oppressive
Politics, Culture, and Society
The Christian and modernistic political worldviews are essentially pro-order, but with some differences. Moral leadership is a necessity for Christians, as is freedom of religion. Harmony between governors and the governed is sought, with the sense that leaders should be motivated by a sense of service to others. Modernity, on the other hand, “is fundamentally about order: about rationality and rationalization, creating order out of chaos,” according to Mary Klages.
Postmodernism, on the other hand, rejects all political systems, seeing them as oppressive; promotes instability, and seeks decentralization of all types of power. Stronger, Western nations are labeled as imperialist if they attempt to influence other nations, although this label was once reserved for empire-building nations. Perhaps all countries could be labeled as imperialistic today, since politics is all about influence.
According to Wikipedia, the postmodern movement
“has had diverse political ramifications: its anti-ideological ideas appear conducive to, and strongly associated with, the feminist movement, racial equality movements, gay rights movements, most forms of late 20th century anarchism, even the peace movement and various hybrids of these in the current anti-globalization movement. Unsurprisingly, none of these institutions entirely embraces all aspects of the postmodern movement in its most concentrated definition, but reflect, or in true postmodern style, borrow from some of its core ideas.”
A major problem with the politics of postmodernism is that it promotes instability within society. Change is essential and healthy, but rapid, poorly planned social and economic changes can have long-lasting and devastating effects. Another problem with postmodern politics is that truth suffers from the censorship of political correctness, as mentioned previously. Political correctness tends to be mass media driven, as are other fads in thinking. It might be interesting (in another forum) to study how the rejection of truth and inability to think analytically are related to societal and political instability.
Summary of Politics and Worldviews
Christian
Governments should express Christian values
Freedom of religion
Morality essential
Individual is important
Leaders/rulers should serve the ruled
Respect for authority
Modern:
Order is good
Science can promote social order
Oppressive governments should be overthrown
Postmodern:
All systems are oppressive
“Subjects” are unaware of being exploited
“Political correctness”
Fragmentation, instability
“Think globally, act locally”
Decentralization
The value of knowledge is perceived differently in each of the three worldviews. Christianity’s primary source of knowledge is the Bible, which is seen as a divine narrative. Most of the Bible is written in a literal, narrative form. This type of narrative is associated with linear thinking/reasoning, which tends to be logical, cause and effect, black and white. Linear thinking is like tree, with a rooted foundation, solid core, beginning and end; but with ever growing and extending branches reaching upwards to the light. Knowledge, however, in the sense of knowing facts, is seen as inferior to wisdom. Wisdom is seen as a superior understanding based on accumulated knowledge, experience, and application of divine precepts, especially of a moral nature.
The modernistic view of knowledge is also linear. It is respectful of and sometimes idolizing of knowledge, which is seen as intrinsically valuable, as well as infinitely powerful. Science is seen as the source of knowledge.
Postmodernism, on the other hand, has lost respect for knowledge, legitimately seeing its limitations and contradictions. Less legitimately, the conclusion drawn by postmodernism is one of confusion and distrust – that nothing can truly be understood.
Mary Klages references postmodern authors Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari when describing the postmodern rhizomatous model of knowledge acquisition. Unlike a tree, a rhizome, or tuber, grows laterally, under the ground, making interconnections with itself. The analogy is stretched however, when it is claimed a rhizome or rhizomatous plant has no beginning or end. We may not be able to identify the first plant in the grouping, but there is one. The group also has a clearly defined circular border, which is the end of the group. There also seems to be some confusion as to a rhizome being like a fungus. This limited analogy, I believe, is supposed to represent circular thinking/reasoning, which is exercised more frequently in the postmodern realm. At best, it could be compared to the eventual return to an original position after exploration of the immediate environment: at worst, to the motion of “going in circles”. This type of thinking lends itself to cyberspace surfing – hours can be spent exploring links before one realizes that the original topic of interest was forgotten long ago. It is also more compatible than linear thinking with the idea that there is no truth, words have no meaning, and nothing can be understood: if these premises are true, there is no need for a logical end to any thought pathway anyway.
No doubt, there are advantages to circular reasoning, but the disadvantages are worrying. In a letter to Brian McLaren, prison evangelist and former Nixon aide Chuck Colson observed, “A generation raised on channel-surfing has lost the capacity for linear thinking and analytical reasoning." Colson’s statement points to one of the biggest problems in education in the postmodern era – the inability to reason analytically. This is a problem since the ability to reason and analyze is essential for navigating the environment, making sound judgments, and for carefully considering the more important aspects of life. Analytical reasoning is also necessary for grasping complex subjects, thus, it‘s absence impairs academic success. In addition, it is necessary for political understanding, judgments, and choices. Impairment of reasoning abilities in the political arena invites manipulation by the less impaired, such as the state.
Colson’s statement recognizes that, apart from the type of learning, the medium through which learning takes place can also influence thinking. One way in which the medium influences thinking is that it determines the type of information disseminated – for example, a book is more suited than a movie for an in depth study of a topic. It is always available (tangible, not in motion), it is quickly and easily manipulated (by the hands), and its form is conducive to contemplation, since you can quietly spend as much time as you like on one page or paragraph. A newspaper article, on the other hand, may only communicate basic facts about an event. Looking at complex media, a computer video game may motivate children to practice learning exercises better than print media. And sometimes less is more: a single black and white photograph may be best to make a statement or portray a stark reality.
Obviously, different generations have been exposed in varying degrees to different learning media as media availability and preferences have changed with time. This has affected thinking and worldviews. For example, when thinking about knowledge, Christianity is concerned about truth, which is information and wisdom; modernism is more focused on facts and analysis; and postmodernism seems to be concerned with factoids and individual bits of information, sometimes related, sometimes not; all delivered by the relentless bombardment of mass media. The increased capacity for digitalization of information ensures a rapid, steady stream of messages to those who desire it. Mary Klages explains that digitalization necessitates a new definition of knowledge according to Lyotard and others: Rather than knowledge being the opposite of “ignorance”, knowledge will be that which can be digitalized. That which cannot be digitalized will be ignored and therefore just “noise”.
Politically, knowledge has, over time, moved from the hands of the few to anyone connected to technology. Knowledge has always been a commodity, but is now more so, as it is disseminated by mass media and linked to advertising. Since knowledge is also power, the state and news agencies now have to share their power (to control information) with citizens who can quickly obtain information from numerous sources. Another positive trend encouraged by postmodernists is that of the Internet-created potential for sharing information with the disenfranchised, along with creating the opportunity for anyone to be an author and/or editor. The negative side of this is that with fewer restrictions and oversight, the integrity of the information authored and edited can suffer.
Summary of Knowledge and Worldviews
Christian:
Given/revealed by God/Bible
Communicated in narrative form
Linear reasoning
Good, but wisdom is better
Modern:
Transmitted by language
Good for its own sake
Limitless potential
Equated with science
Linear reasoning
"2">Postmodern:
Nothing can ever be truly understood
Circular reasoning
Like a rhizome
Digitalization
Should be available to all
Language and Knowledge
Truth, language and knowledge are closely related, and in some aspects, they overlap. In the Christian worldview, language and knowledge reflect God’s wisdom. In modernism, language is rational and is science’s vehicle. Not surprisingly, language is viewed differently by a postmodernist. What is surprising is that postmodernism rejects the very language it uses to describe itself – as with truth, words (even those used by postmodernists to describe postmodernism) don’t correspond to reality. In fact, words have no real meaning, but are only subjective fluid symbols and representations (“signifiers“). This brings us to a hallmark of postmodernism: the invention of new words, called “neologisms“, to painfully describe what was once said in fewer and simpler words.
There are certain buzzwords, some of which are neologisms, that are used frequently by postmodernists (or others), when discussing postmodernism. Those used in this article are listed to increase the reader’s familiarity with them.
As stated before, worldviews are influenced by the understanding of truth. The understanding of truth is then reflected in beliefs about language and knowledge. As we explore postmodern beliefs we will examine a neologism that is important to know, according to postmodernists. The term is “metanarrative” and is used in the writings of philosophers Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jacques Baudrillard, among others. A metanarrative is “the big scheme of things“ – a great story that explains the creation and purpose of the universe and its relationship to its parts (religion, science, philosophy, art, etc.). It is what we commonly call a worldview, which makes one wonder why postmodernists don‘t just call it that. Curiously, while they have invented the term, postmodernists reject the concept of a metanarrative, which makes one wonder why the word was invented to begin with. Despite this denial of the concept of a worldview, postmodernism itself is a worldview/metanarrative.
Postmodernists believe that all metanarratives have some validity, but none is sufficiently valid to adequately explain the universe. Therefore, there are only “little stories” told by groups and cultures. In Josh McDowell’s The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Albert Mohler explains their belief: “Claims to universal truth – the metanarratives – are oppressive…and thus must be resisted.” (Emphasis added).
Language cannot be discussed without mentioning influential French philosopher, Jacques Derrida. He introduced a method to analyze language (texts) called “deconstructionism“. This method is based on the idea that language is unstable and that the reader, not the writer, determines the meaning of a word or sentence. Today, it is applied to any type of media, not just texts. Another belief is that definitions are tyrannical, which is consistent with the postmodern theme of avoiding clarity, but deconstructionists also define. This method may seem to be of no consequence, but I wonder if it influenced President Clinton’s apparent difficulties with word definitions during his impeachment hearings? As an illustration taken from Jurist: The Law Professors’ Network, when questioned in court, this Rhodes Scholar was heard to answer, “It all depends, on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” As another example, he also adamantly stated, “I did not have sex with that woman.” This would seem to be clear cut, but again, truth was distorted by his definition (or lack thereof) of sex.
Wordplay is seen again in the postmodernist use of “binary oppositions”. These are pairs of words that are opposites; therefore, the theory is that we are favorably biased towards one word, but intolerant of the other in the pair. As an exercise, let’s examine “order” and “disorder“. If order is desirable, then disorder is undesirable. For some reason, postmodernists take this observation further to conclude that it must necessarily follow that those who are disorderly/undesirable will then be wiped out. Thus, order is viewed with suspicion by the postmodernist. This suspicion is a recurring theme in many political writings. In another example, that of “male” and “female“, the premise is that if the male is dominant, then the female must be kept subordinate. This disdain for the dominant is a recurrent theme in feminist writings. “Dominance” (frequently called “hegemony” in postmodern circles) is therefore seen as bad because it implies oppression.
Although there is some truth in these social and political analyses, there seems to be an excessive paranoia involved. Words are important, but if we are constantly evaluating certain words with unwarranted suspicion and anxiety, we become overly cautious about using them. They then become fuel for rhetoric. As an example, I recently heard a woman on television decrying the use of the word “alien” when used as part of the term “illegal alien”. She objected to the possibility that illegal aliens might thus be negatively associated with extraterrestrial aliens. This silliness made me wonder what she would say if there were extraterrestrial aliens watching. Would they be offended by her negative, and therefore intolerant, view of them?
Significantly, during her tirade, the word “illegal” was not discussed, perhaps because she didn’t want to remind anyone that this word was the real issue. She ignored the fact that an alien is simply a person who has not become a citizen. It is not a negative or positive word. However, once it is compared to or set in opposition to the word “citizen”, one must, according to postmodern wordplay, choose citizen as the more positive and “dominant” word, since it is usually more desirable to be a citizen than an alien. It is prudent to choose words carefully, but this new foolishness in tiptoeing around words becomes part of the game called “political correctness”. Political correctness is a tactic of manipulation hidden under the guise of sensitivity to the feelings of others, especially minorities. Politicians frequently use this tactic to promote an image of sensitivity and tolerance to whichever group they are trying to influence at the time. We should be sensitive to the feelings of others, but of everyone’s, not just those of minorities. As with anything else, truth shouldn’t be compromised to prop up someone’s political agenda.
Language expresses truth. When language is corrupted, truth is eroded and this is a concern for many reasons. One reason is that truth helps define a person and that person’s relationships: A person’s integrity is defined by his or her truthfulness and trustworthiness, and truth and trust are the bases of relationship formation. Important relational and life decisions depend on truthful information. If we are to have healthy families, healthy connections with others, and healthy work environments, truth is necessary.
Another reason for concern about truthful language is based upon the necessity of a free press in a democracy. Gov
ernments that are more open and truthful tend to be healthier than those that are not. When there is erosion of truth, there is no trust; and relationships, whether between individuals, or between governments and citizens, deteriorate.
Language and Worldviews
Christian:
God’s word is the supreme message
Language transmits knowledge and wisdom
Words have power
Modern:
Language must be rational
Communication is enhanced with science/technology
Language disseminates knowledge
Postmodern:
“Metanarratives” are invalid
Words have no real meaning
“Binary oppositions”
Mass media domination with no originals, but copies of previous work (ex: CDs)
Postmodern Buzzwords 1
Binary oppositions
Cultural relativism
Deconstructionism
Dominant/dominance
Hegemony
Intolerance/tolerance
Metanarrative
Neologism
Oppression
Political correctness
Relativism
Signifier/signified
Subjects
Summary of Truth and Worldviews
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
POSTMODERN, MODERN, AND CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEWS
Description: One of the few things that can be said with certainty about postmodernism is that there seems to be varied opinions as to what it is and isn’t. Keeping this in mind, it should also be noted that not all postmodernists share the same beliefs, just as individual modernists and Christians may have differing opinions within their worldviews. The main point to be made about postmodern philosophy is that it is a dangerous philosophy, as will be shown.
There are several ways to examine postmodernism. One way is in relation to modernism. Simply put, postmodernism is the idea that the historical period thought of as “modern” has passed. Some would say that postmodernism is actually a reaction against modernism, just as modernism was a reaction against the Victorian and traditional forms (especially artistic forms) of the early 1900s. University of Colorado English professor Dr. Mary Klages tells us “postmodernism is, in general, whatever resists or destabilizes the Enlightenment mode of thought, knowledge, or action.” On the other hand, it could be said that rather than being a reaction, postmodernism is an extension of modernism, or the next step in modernism. To confuse matters further, there are those, such as author Tom Turner, who would say that postmodernism has ended and that we have now entered a post-postmodern era.
Opinions as to the purported start of modernism vary, but Mary Klages picks the mid-eighteenth century (which coincides with Enlightenment thinking), or even earlier with the Renaissance. Not surprisingly then, postmodernism is considered “counter-Enlightenment” according to essayist Isaiah Berlin and others.
It’s helpful to realize that postmodernism and modernism refer more to artistic forms (art, music, poetry, architecture), while purists use the terms postmodernity and modernity to refer to societies, philosophy, governments, etc. In an effort to avoid confusion, I will use the terms postmodernism and modernism exclusively, despite their impreciseness.
I believe a sensible approach to understanding postmodernism’s significance (notice I didn’t say “understanding it”) is to examine it in light of other worldviews, especially the Christian worldview. In The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell quotes Gene Veith: “Postmodernism is a worldview that denies all worldviews”. Given this, it is important to recognize that it is in opposition to Christian and Western belief systems.
When examining other worldviews in the context of time, we see that the Christian worldview started losing its dominance around the advent of modernism, which also coincided with the growth of humanism. Postmodernism then reared its head somewhere between 1960-1990, eroding the dominance of Christianity further. This period was a time of greater social freedom, along with liberation from traditional roles; however, this widespread, rapid social change threw Western and European societies into a whirlpool of social experimentation that is clearly still unraveling the fabric of these societies.
Unfortunately, there are those who embrace the unraveling, not noticing, or perhaps choosing not to notice, the widening holes in the fabric. These are the social experimenters who can’t or won’t see the detrimental effects of their actions on real people. Those who believe the postmodern promises of liberation from everything (from boredom to hell), seem to suffer from an empty, rather disconnected malaise – something is missing. A certain degree of freedom is good, but there is a point where freedom becomes narcissistic and isolating. Could it be that when too many ties are cut, we find ourselves adrift, lonely, and self-absorbed? As singer, Janis Joplin observed in the song “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
Truth: When comparing worldviews, we see that the Christian worldview derives truth from God’s revelation – in fact; there are over 200 references to truth in the Bible. As will be seen, all aspects of the Christian worldview relate to God. Modernism’s worldview on the other hand derives truth from science, reason and logic. Although the source of truth appears to be different for Christianity and modernism, it must be noted that Christianity also uses logic and reason to obtain truth. The Bible reveals God’s truth, but it is revealed in a logical and reasonable fashion. For example, we believe that Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be not only because God‘s inspired word tells us this, but also because of the overwhelming validation of manuscript, archeological, prophetic, and statistical evidence. Postmodernism, on the other hand, links truth to subjective experience and maintains that truth does not objectively exist.
The biggest problem with the postmodern view of truth is the belief that it is “relative“, or changing; not fixed. This assertion is illogical: If the postmodernist insists that we can’t know truth, then how can we know that what postmodernism teaches is true? To embrace the idea that truth is relative is a schizophrenic viewpoint. If an individual can’t perceive truth (reality), it’s impossible to function perceptually and morally even within the immediate environment. Likewise, a society or nation that can’t perceive truth will find it impossible to function properly.
The relativist postmodern position is closely related to the concept of cultural relativism, or the belief that when it comes to right and wrong, there are no absolutes. Furthermore, disagreement with the postmodern viewpoint on any topic, but especially morality, may be viewed as intolerance, despite convincing evidence to the contrary.
According to postmodern thought, the dominant, majority culture of the time decides what is “good” or “bad”, which renders these concepts relative. This rejection of absolute truth, with a preference for subjective experience over objective observation is an extension of existentialist thought as taught by philosophers Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzche. The obvious problem with the majority morality of cultural relativism is that the majority can be fickle, rejecting tomorrow what was embraced today. For examples, think of slavery, abortion, and Hitler’s Nazism.
The remaining problems with postmodernism are related to its distortion of truth. Since the postmodern concept of truth is that it can’t be known, then what passes for truth in this conceptual framework is distorted. The related components of this worldview are equally warped, as will be seen.
Summary of Truth and Worldviews
Christian:
Modern:
Postmodern:
Humanity: The concept of humanity or humanness is also different in the three worldviews: Christianity views humanity as worldly (physical, tempted by sin) and spiritual (in relationship to God). Modernism denies the spiritual component of humanity, exalts the rational aspect, and sees humans as masters of their own fate and that of the world. Additionally, the view that we are a superior type of animal, rather than distinct from animals, tends to diminish the sense of worth with which humanity regards itself. Disturbingly, postmodernism descends even further, viewing human beings as “subjects” who offer nothing unique, being mere products of their environment.
Summary of Humanness and Worldviews
Christian:
Modern:
Postmodern:
The Universe: In regards to the Earth, the Christian view is again God-centered, while modernism’s view is man/science-centered. Postmodernism’s view has become self-centered (experiential) and Earth-centered. At first glance, postmodernism’s mission to preserve the Earth seems commendable, but again, there are disturbing qualities to the postmodern view: Mother Earth is seen by many as a living organism that actually has a name (Gaia); so we have a universe where planet Earth is elevated to the status of a living being, while people are dehumanized as “subjects“. If dehumanization doesn’t seem alarming to you, keep in mind that it is a necessary step in the continuum that justifies killing. Dehumanization is used when training soldiers for war; prior to genocide; as an excuse to euthanize the imperfect; and before abortions are performed.
The belief that our planet is alive reinforces New Age, pantheistic, and animist beliefs even among educated populations. As an example, in the U.K., there is now what is called the “New Age traveler“, which, according to Encarta Dictionary, is someone “who belongs to the New Age cultural movement and lives a nomadic life, traveling the country, often as a member of a group, to gather at places believed to be spiritually significant.” Again, it should be noted that not all postmodernists share exactly the same beliefs.
Summary of the Earth and Worldviews
Christian:
Modern:
Postmodern:
The three worldviews about the Universe are similar to those about the Earth. Again, we see a postmodern reluctance to comprehend the reality of the universe. Perhaps this reluctance is directly related to the rejection of objective reality – if truth can’t be known, and morality and God don’t exist, there’s really no process or reason to understand anything.
Summary of the Universe and Worldviews
Christian:
Modern:
Postmodern:
The universe can never be truly understood
Experienced subjectively
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