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Postmodernism As An Attack On The Enlightenment Vision

The document discusses the contrast between Enlightenment ideals and postmodernism, highlighting the shift from reliance on faith and objective truth to social subjectivism and collectivism. It outlines the philosophical transitions from pre-modernism to modernism and finally to post-modernism, emphasizing the latter's skepticism towards reason and truth. Key thinkers like Foucault and Fish are cited to illustrate postmodernism's focus on power dynamics and social change rather than objective knowledge.

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Pablo Sosa
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42 views2 pages

Postmodernism As An Attack On The Enlightenment Vision

The document discusses the contrast between Enlightenment ideals and postmodernism, highlighting the shift from reliance on faith and objective truth to social subjectivism and collectivism. It outlines the philosophical transitions from pre-modernism to modernism and finally to post-modernism, emphasizing the latter's skepticism towards reason and truth. Key thinkers like Foucault and Fish are cited to illustrate postmodernism's focus on power dynamics and social change rather than objective knowledge.

Uploaded by

Pablo Sosa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Postmodernism as an attack on the Enlightenment Vision

Source: Hicks, Stephen. (2018) Explaining Postmodernism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGbHG63x8w

The Enlightenment Vision


Liberalism Freedom
1688 England
1776 United States
1789 France
Individualism
1690 Locke
Capitalism Wealth
1776 Adam Smith
Reason Progress/
1620 Bacon the Pursuit of
1641 Descartes Happiness
1690 Locke
Scientific Method [Materialism]
Engineering Material
1750 Industrial Revolution Goods
1769 James Watt
Science
1666/75 Newton Leibniz

Medicine Health
1796 Jenner
1759 Lavoisier

 There is no longer a reliance on Faith in an individual or institution.


 Every human being has the power to discover truth through Reason.
 Ethics is founded on the idea that you are a being of Reason. Tolerance becomes essential. Freedom of speech
 Political Implications: People should make their own decisions, argue and participate. Democracy
Defining Pre-Modernism, Modernism, and Post-Modernism
Perspective Pre-Modernism Modernism Post-Modernism

1. What is Real? Spiritualism Realism / Naturalism Antirealism (it’s pointless to discuss it)
(Metaphysics)

2. How do we Know? True knowledge comes Objectivism Social Subjectivism – Social determinism from
(Epistemology) from revealed truths assumptions conveyed through language and
culture. It will depend on context, feelings

3. What/who am I Original Sin Tabula Rasa, Social determinism


(Human Nature) Nature-nurture combo

Subject to God’s will Autonomy of the Individual Group Conflict –


Groups cannot come to mutual agreement

4. How should I live Collectivism Individualism Collectivism


(Ethics) Altruism Egalitarianism (Group equality)

5. How should we live Medieval feudal system Liberal capitalism Socialism


(Politics/Economics)

 Foucault:
o “It is meaningless to speak in the name of – or against – Reason, Truth , or Knowledge”
 Stanley Fish
o “Deconstruction relieves me of the obligation to be right…and demands only that it be interesting”
 Fish, Stanley (2003) Is There a Text in this Class? Harvard University Press
 Frank Lentricchia:
o “Postmodernism seeks not to find the foundation and the conditions of truth but to exercise power for the purpose of social change.”
o One task of the professor is to help students “spot, confront, and work against the political horrors of one’s time”
 Lentricchia, Frank (1985) Criticism and Social Change University of Chicago Press

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