From: jimruttshow8596
Postmodernism is described as a sensibility that emerged after the 1968 revolution, gaining traction in academia during the 1970s and 1980s, and in popular culture during the 1990s and 2000s [02:31:00]. It is viewed as a developmental stage for individuals and societies, embodying certain moralities, forms of reasoning, and values [02:56:00]. Approximately 20 to 25 percent of the adult population in Western countries are believed to experience the world through a postmodern lens and express these values [04:42:00].
Core Tenets and Criticisms
Postmodernism is characterized as a “religion of critique” or “religion of criticism” that originated from intellectual practices within modern society [05:34:00]. It views modernity as insufficient and unsustainable, constantly pointing out its flaws [43:42:00].
Key aspects of postmodern thought include:
- Critique of Universalism: It protests against the “callous, cold, empirical hand of the Enlightenment” and the striving towards universality, instead dreaming of a particular world [03:47:00].
- Shifting Perspectives: It encourages critiquing modernity by shifting perspectives and including excluded voices [05:15:00].
- Egalitarianism and Relativism: Postmodern sensibilities are “deeply egalitarian, multi-perspectival,” and in a sense, relativistic [09:00:00]. This relativism, while not always the “most stupid caricature sense” where all things are equal, implies an underlying sensibility tied to egalitarianism [09:07:00].
- Structural Analysis: Postmodernism offers real methods and methodologies for discourse analysis and ripping apart power structures, showing how materially they affect lives and how injustice harms human beings through difficult-to-grasp structures [12:12:00]. The UN’s development programs, for instance, are based on this analysis of structural injustice [46:07:00].
- Rejection of Depth: A fundamental insight of postmodernism is that there is “no depth, there is only a surface” [01:20:54].
However, significant critiques are leveled against postmodernism:
- Impracticality and Inaction: Critics argue that it is “essentially crazy” and that a person taking it seriously wouldn’t be able to exist productively [01:43:00]. It is seen as a “strange and weird dead-end” [06:54:00] and “wishful thinking” [17:55:00] that is “not useful” [45:14:00], leading to a “swamp of idiocy” [48:04:00]. Its emphasis on critique means it “always ends in the critique,” not a “to-do list” [49:41:00], thus hindering decision-making and action, as exemplified by discussions on climate change [48:25:00].
- Rejection of Science: It is criticized for essentially rejecting science as a different kind of value [07:07:00].
- Insufficiency for Complex Challenges: Postmodern values are considered “insufficient” for complex challenges like climate change, global governance, and existential risks from technology [23:52:00].
- Resistance to Growth Hierarchies: Postmodern individuals often feel “deeply insulted” by discussions of “growth hierarchies,” which are empirically observable [09:27:00].
- Elitism: It is associated with “elitism, pompous, self-congratulatory elitism of the woke sort,” which can provoke reactionary responses [01:06:33].
- Unintended Consequences: If the world is perpetually left in “dead ends” by postmodernism, it can lead to “reactionary neo reactions,” potentially resulting in fascism or Nazism [06:03:00]. The statement “a lot of the high stage people today are becoming Nazis” highlights this danger [43:02:00].
- Misapplication and Pathologies: When meta modern code is applied at lower stages of cognitive complexity, it can lead to “flattened versions” with “lots of pathologies,” such as constantly seeking out diverse perspectives without being able to coordinate them, or asserting moral privileges based on a perceived higher stage of development [55:30:00].
Relation to Other Philosophical Movements
Postmodernism is seen as a “heresy of modernism,” similar to how communism is a heresy of modernism [06:45:00]. It is also linked to the “Rousseau branch” of the Enlightenment, which led to romanticism, then totalitarianism, and finally postmodernism [06:26:00].
The transition from postmodernism to metamodernism is described as essential for societal progress [05:51:00]. While postmodernism offers a valuable “moral mobilization,” its methods should be carefully considered [51:22:00]. The argument is that modern ideas, when taken to their utmost conclusion, collapse into postmodern conclusions [41:16:00]. Similarly, postmodern ideas, when pushed to their ultimate point, collapse and lead to metamodern conclusions [41:25:00].
A key difference is that metamodernism seeks to provide a “to-do list” and actionable steps, unlike postmodernism which stops at critique [49:41:00]. It is necessary to “revolt against the revolt” of postmodernity [01:49:00] to avoid falling into dangerous ideologies like neo-reactionary thinking [01:54:00].