Postmodernism

Postmodernism refers to a wide range of eclectic thinking applied to art, architecture, fiction, literature, philosophy, and cultural and literary criticism, among other things. It is considered a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific or objective attempts to explain reality. As such, postmodernism conflicts with explanations that claim to be universally valid—that is, for all cultures, groups, traditions, and ethnicities—and instead focuses on the relative truths for each person.

Modernity has its roots in Latin from the phrase just now. The Postmodern, then, literally means “after just now,” or “after modernity.” It refers to the appearance or actual dissolution of those social forms associated with modernity. Postmodern is “post” because it denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious universal truth, a characteristic of the modern mind. It is important to note, however, that postmodernism is a response to modernism—that is, the negation of or disbelief in the modern outlook—rather than simply an approach that arose after [Page 1641]modernism. In many ways, the society we live in is still considered modern, not postmodern.

According to the postmodern theorist Jean-François Lyotard, the term represents a culmination of the process of modernity and enlightenment thought, toward speedy cultural change, to a state where constant change is the status quo, leaving the notion of progress contradictory. Postmodernism, thus, relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, always cognizant that the end result of one's experience will necessarily be fallible and relative rather than certain and universal. While modernism deals with purpose, design, hierarchy, distance, synthesis, centering, and presence, postmodernism is synonymous with play, chance, anarchy, participation, antithesis, dispersal, and absence. As a cultural movement, factors such as globalization, consumerism, the fragmentation of authority, and the commodification of knowledge have greatly contributed to the development of postmodernism.