Postmodernism

Question 1

Chief characteristics of Postmodernism

Answer 1

1. Truth does not correspond to reality
2. There is no Metanarrative that can account for all reality
3. We can never Epistemologically encounter the Thing-in-Itself
4. There is no ultimate foundation upon which knowledge or realitiy is based
5. Objectivity is an illusion
6. Truth depends on your perspective

Question 2

PM 1: Truth does not correspond to reality

Answer 2

a. Truth is Made rather than found
b. We should give up the search for truth and settle for interpretation
c. We construct reality with the concepts we bring to it

Question 3

PM 2: There is no Metanarrative that can account for all reality

Answer 3

a. Claims to universal truth are “oppressive” and “totalizing .: must be resisted
b. Rejects concept of a worldview
c. Postmodernism is the worldview that rejects all worldviews

Question 4

PM 3: We can never Epistemologically encounter the Thing-in-Itself (Objective Truth)

Answer 4

a. b/c things are always in flux, we can never describe an objective unifying center
b. meaning resides in the interpreter
c. meaning changes over time and in different contexts
d. text, not facts, is what counts

Question 5

PM 4: There is no ultimate foundation upon which knowledge or reality is based

Answer 5

a. rejects Foundationalism (there are foundational premises that we can build beliefs and knowledge from)
b. no standard for measuring and comparing knowledge w/in different perspectives, languages, and paradigms

Question 6

PM 5: Objectivity is an illusion

Answer 6

Objectivity is replaced with cultural relativity

Question 7

PM 6: Truth depends on your perspective

Literary Deconstructionism

Answer 7

a. Truth is made, not found, Literary deconstructionism: truth is created by the reader in the act of reading
b. author is divorced from the text
c. our view of the truth depends on the community in which we participate
d. deconstructionism also applies to “reading” reality

Question 8

Objection to PM 1
Postmodernism is self-defeating

Answer 8

1. defies commonsense reality
2. the thesis that objective truth should be rejected is itself an objective truth
   3.deconstructionism cannot be halted from deconstructing itself
3. rejects the tools and logic of the Enlightenment but uses them build arguments in support of PM

Question 9

Objection to PM 2
We CAN know the thing in itself (objective truth)

Answer 9

Our senses are proof of our ability to know

Question 10

Objection to PM 3
Postmodernism fails to demonstrate that truth does not correspond to reality

Answer 10

1. we can have knowledge of things (not merely opinions) ie we know what trees are
2. Just because we can’t be certain about everything doesn’t mean we can’t know anything
3. We don’t have to wallow in Postmodern skepticis
4. Applied science and technology are proof that our perceptions of the world are accurate

Question 11

Objection to PM 4
Practical experience indicates that we are able to extract the Author’s meaning from the text

Answer 11

1. Cultural baggage can be removed from the text and interpreter w/o forfeiting objective truth
2. Despite differences bet. languages, concepts CAN be meaningfully expressed
3. Deconstructionists would not be happy if reviewers misinterpreted their works .: in practice, deconstructionists like their own text to intention
4. In the real world, we EXPECT people to say what they mean and for mature people to understand what is said and represent it fairly

Question 12

Objection to PM 5
Truth is objective–not based on perspective

Answer 12

1. we cannot function w/o objective reality
2. belief cannot be relegated to the status of public opinion–The ONLY thing worth believing is the TRUTH
3. If we are occasionally deceived–it is better than not trusting the senses at all