From: jimruttshow8596
James Lindsay, a mathematician, author, and independent thinker, has dedicated his work to understanding and critiquing the influence of postmodernism, particularly as it has morphed into various contemporary theories Cynical Theories that impact modern society [00:42:26]. His book, Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody, co-authored with Helen Pluckrose, explores the history of postmodernism and its current manifestations in the public sphere [00:42:21].
Origins and Core Principles of Postmodernism
Postmodernism emerged in art and literature around the 1940s, initially questioning rigid structures and rules [00:25:45]. This ethos led it to challenge boundaries and expectations, often by inserting arbitrary rules to highlight their inherent arbitrariness [00:26:29].
In the 1950s and 1960s, a wave of French philosophers, deeply invested in structuralism—the idea that language structures thought and society—began studying the interrelation of language and power [00:26:50]. They sought to demonstrate that established rules were arbitrary and often contained “structural oppressions” [00:27:30].
Key figures in this intellectual shift include:
- Jacques Derrida: A prominent post-structuralist linguist [00:37:37].
- Michel Foucault: Whose “archaeologies” and “genealogies” aimed to dismantle historical narratives to expose how dominant “regimes of truth” dictated thought [00:27:41]. Foucault argued that whether a claim to objective truth is actually true doesn’t matter; what matters are the politics behind how it was decided [00:31:42].
The most important idea of postmodern thought is that all knowledge and claims to truth are ultimately the result of political processes, serving as means of forwarding power politics rather than describing reality [00:29:17].
Two Core Principles and Four Themes
Lindsay and Pluckrose identify two core principles of postmodern thought [00:41:09]:
- Postmodern Knowledge Principle: Knowledge is socially constructed, generally in service of power, and there is no access to objective truth [00:41:14].
- Postmodern Political Principle: Dominant groups construct knowledge to serve their own power, necessitating an ethical imperative to dismantle powerful discourses [00:41:19].
These principles manifest through four core themes [00:42:01]:
- Blurring of Boundaries: Obscuring distinctions between categories like man/woman or knowledge/storytelling [00:42:12].
- Almighty Power of Language: An exaggerated focus on language, believing words act as “magic spells” to structure society [00:42:26].
- Cultural Relativism: Judging one culture’s ethics or knowledge systems from another’s is considered impossible, meaning different “ways of knowing” (e.g., science and witchcraft) are equally valid within their cultural contexts [00:42:37].
- Dissolution of Universal Humanity and the Autonomous Individual: Individuals are seen purely as products of their social groups, rather than possessing universal human characteristics or individual autonomy [00:43:14]. This rejects the liberal notion of shared terms for understanding the world [00:44:41].
The Applied Turn: From Abstract Philosophy to Activist Scholarship
By the mid-to-late 1980s, abstract postmodernism began to wane, but its ideas were repurposed by radical activists from the 1960s and 1970s, including critical theorists, liberation movements, and radical feminists [00:45:30]. These groups, who had previously focused on issues of power dynamics, found a new set of tools in postmodernism [00:46:01].
This “applied turn” explicitly combined radical critical theory with postmodern tools [00:46:27]. A key shift was setting aside universal deconstruction and asserting that the “experience of oppression is real” and cannot be deconstructed by those with privilege [00:46:36]. Postmodernism was thus simplified to focus on deconstructing powers that create oppression, while oppression itself was deemed off-limits for deconstruction [00:46:47]. This paved the way for identity politics to become the primary lens through which postmodern principles and themes are applied [00:46:58].
Impact on Academic Fields and Public Discourse
Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonial theory applies these principles to issues of colonialism and global power dynamics.
- Strategic Essentialism: Coined by Gayatri Spivak, this concept involves adopting negative stereotypes about one’s group (e.g., “stupid and lazy”) in a self-aware, ironic way to use them as a “weapon of resistance” against dominant power [00:48:17]. It aims to preserve existing hierarchies (e.g., men/women) but reverse the power dynamic (e.g., “girl power”) [00:50:01]. This approach is seen as cynical because it maintains the hierarchy, rather than dismantling its meaningfulness, as liberalism would [00:50:37].
- Decolonizing Fields: This movement attempts to dismiss reason and logic as “properties” of white Western men, arguing that teaching science or reason to non-Western cultures is a “colonial act” that erases indigenous ways of thinking [00:53:51]. This leads to the absurd claim that modern concepts like science and reason, despite their utility, are merely cultural impositions [00:56:09].
Research Justice
Research justice is an example of the cynical theories and the “cook the books” mentality of the applied turn. It argues that research has historically excluded certain ideas and voices due to “systemic power” [01:06:08].
- The solution is to deliberately skew citations, prioritizing “marginalized voices” like black women scholars over white Western men, regardless of the quality or originality of the work [01:07:07].
- This approach, despite its stated goal of fairness, is seen as a deliberate attempt to manipulate academic canons and create professional opportunities for activists who possess specific identity markers, rather than focusing on objective truth [01:08:15].
- This extends to mathematics education, where there are calls to make math “less individualistic and more collectivist” and to question the “presumed objectivity of mathematics” [01:11:22]. Some even argue that “two plus two doesn’t equal four” because it “subjects other ways other possible values to exclusion” [01:11:36].
Queer Theory
Queer theory radically rejects anything normal or normative, viewing it as constraining [01:19:24].
- It argues that categories, even for identities like “woman” in relation to “lesbian,” must be unstable and broken down [01:19:55].
- This includes the “insane view” that biological sex itself is not real, but rather a “social construct” like gender roles [01:21:01], based on the idea that if biological sex is real, it could be used to justify sexism [01:23:55].
Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality
Critical Race Theory (CRT) claims that racial categories were invented to perpetuate racism and slavery [01:26:51].
- While liberalism has historically worked to remove social significance from racial categories (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of color blindness [01:28:10]), CRT, influenced by figures like Kimberlé Crenshaw, seeks to re-inject social significance into racial categories. It asserts that “I am black” is more powerful than “I am a person who happens to be black” [01:29:00].
- This leads to the assertion of multiculturalism over pluralism, intentionally drawing cultural barriers [01:32:15]. It defines “black culture” in opposition to “white culture,” claiming values like productivity, reliability, loyalty, and punctuality are “white supremacy” [01:33:09]. This approach is seen as a “recipe for disaster and failure” [01:34:03].
Consequences and Critiques of Postmodernism and Modernity
The overall societal impact of information chaos and of these postmodern perspectives in philosophy is seen as deeply problematic:
- Hermetically Sealed Worldview: This “social justice” (capitalized as a term of art [01:03:34]) framework is “ungrounded with either facts or data” [01:02:48], actively ignoring historical analysis or empirical facts [01:02:55]. It dismisses any criticism by labeling it as racist or sexist, believing such criticism comes from an “oppressor’s” hegemonic culture of knowing [01:03:51].
- Nihilistic Despair: Postmodernism, stemming from Marxists grappling with the failures of communism [00:32:08], fostered a “nihilistic, despairing kind of perspective” where “everything must be politics” [00:31:55].
- Psychological Devastation: Critical Race Theory, for example, is described as the “opposite of cognitive behavioral therapy” [01:38:21]. It makes people more sensitive to slights, encourages catastrophizing, and increases paranoia, cynicism, and nihilism, which is detrimental to personal empowerment [01:38:30].
- Regressive Thinking: This movement is characterized as “neo-medievalism,” an attempt to “reverse the course of the last 500 years” by returning to pre-modern, feudal states [01:04:03]. It is seen as fundamentally “backwards” and “the exact wrong way to think about everything” [01:39:10].
The core belief of these activists and scholars is painfully sincere; they are “all in on this” [01:15:24]. They genuinely believe they are calling for a “revolution” to tear down a system defined by systemic power [01:17:16].
The Liberal Alternative and Way Forward
The authors contend that philosophical liberalism is the primary alternative to these illiberal movements [00:07:26]. Liberalism, as a method for resolving conflicts [00:10:44], emphasizes universal humanity, individual autonomy, reason, and an impartial approach to truth-seeking [01:16:33]. It recognizes that while injustices like racism and sexism exist, liberalism has consistently provided mechanisms for their gradual improvement [01:25:28].
To counter the tide of postmodernist-influenced thought, it is necessary to:
- Listen Better: Engage in dialogue, even if only to understand the other side’s perspective [01:41:34].
- Assert Liberalism: Re-educate people on the principles of liberal systems, which schools have systematically failed to teach [01:41:51]. This includes understanding why rule of law, due process, scientific processes, and objective standards are vital [01:43:17].
- Show Up and Speak Out: Activists pushing these ideas are persistent; those who disagree must also engage in public discourse, attend meetings, and voice their objections [01:42:37].
- Do Not Back Down: When faced with name-calling or accusations, individuals should stand firm and not be intimidated. It is crucial to recognize that the moral and epistemological high ground belongs to those upholding liberalism and its principles of science and universal humanity [01:47:37].