postmodernism Flashcards
features of post-modern society
knowledge
simulation
post modern culture
knowledge
Foucault * Science is not objective, but establishes categories leading to the exclusion of marginalised groups * E.g. Psychology claims to scientifically define a normal mind from an abnormal mind * Drugs/electric shock treatment to “cure” homosexuality in 20th century
* This means we cannot use scientific ideas to improve society * Everyone’s views/“truth” is equally valid and we should reject one view of truth and embrace diversity. They reject metanarratives that claim absolute truths
simulation
Baudrillard
* Simulacra
* Nothing is real, but there is a layer posing over
society as reality which presents itself as real
* Simulation
* Reality and meaning has been replaced by symbols
and signs
* Human experience is therefore a simulation of reality
– reality is not relevant to our lives
this situation is an Hyperreality - where ‘real’ and imaginary intermingle
- Social Media
- We post a caption/edited image of ourselves
- The image/caption represent the “real” you
- People interpret the image/caption to be you but the
image/caption is not really you - The online image/presentation becomes a meaningless simulation of you
Knowledge - textbook
Drawing on the ideas of Foucault, postmodernists argue that there are no sure foundations to knowledge - no objective criteria we can use to prove whether a theory is true or false.
1 The Enlightenment project of achieving progress through true, scientific knowledge is dead. If we cannot guarantee our knowledge is correct, we cannot use it to improve society.
2 Any all-embracing theory that claims to have the truth about how to create a better society, such as Marxism, is a mere meta-narrative or ‘big story’ - just someone’s version of reality, not the truth. Therefore there is no reason to accept the claims that the theory makes.
Postmodernists also reject meta-narratives such as Marxism on the grounds that they have helped to create oppressive totalitarian states that impose their version of the truth on people. For example, in the former Soviet Union, the state’s attempt to re-mould society on Marxist principles led to political repression and slave labour camps. That is, they argue that all views are true for those who hold them. No one has special access to the truth - including sociologists. All accounts of reality are equally valid. We should therefore celebrate the diversity of views rather than seek to impose one version of the truth on everyone.
Simulacra
Like Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard (1983) argues that knowledge is central to postmodern society. He argues that society is no longer based on the production of material goods, but rather on buying and selling knowledge in the form of images and signs. However, unlike signs in past societies, those today bear no relation to physical reality.
Instead, signs stand for nothing other than themselves - they are not symbols of some other real thing. Baudrillard calls such signs simulacra . For example, tabloid newspaper articles about fictitious soap opera characters are ‘signs about signs’ rather than about an underlying reality.
Baudrillard describes this situation as hyper-reality: where the signs appear more real than reality itself and substitute themselves for reality. However, because the signs do not represent anything real, they are literally meaningless. Baudrillard is particularly critical of television, which he sees as the main source of simulacra and of our inability to distinguish between image and reality.
Culture
Postmodernists argue that culture and identity in postmodern society differ fundamentally from modern society, especially because of the role of the media in creating hyper-reality. The media produces an endless stream of ever changing images, values and versions of the truth. As a result, culture becomes fragmented and unstable, so that there is no longer a coherent or fixed set of values shared by members of society. Confronted by so many different versions of the truth, people cease to believe wholeheartedly in any one version. Furthermore, given the failure of meta-narratives such as Marxism to deliver a better society, people lose faith in the possibility of rational progress.
In postmodernity, identity also becomes destabilised. For example, instead of a fixed identity ascribed by our class, we can now construct our own identity from the wide range of images and lifestyles on offer in the media. We can easily change our identity simply by changing our consumption patterns - picking and mixing cultural goods and media-produced images to define ourselves.
Evals - Marxist
From a Marxist perspective, Philo and Miller (2001) make several criticisms of postmodernism:
• It ignores power and inequality. For example, the idea that media images are unconnected with reality ignores the ruling class’ use of the media as a tool of domination.
• Similarly, the claim that we freely construct our identities through consumption overlooks the effect of poverty in restricting such opportunities.
• Postmodernists are simply wrong to claim that people cannot distinguish between reality and media image.
• By assuming all views are equally true, it becomes just as valid to deny that the Nazis murdered millions as it does to affirm it. This is a morally indefensible position.
Logical Evals
Postmodernism can be criticised on logical grounds. For example, Lyotard’s theory is self-defeating: why should we believe a theory that claims that no theory has the truth? Moreover, Best and Kellner (1991) point out that postmodernism is a particularly weak theory: while it identifies some important features of today’s society (such as the importance of the media and consumption), it fails to explain how they came about.
