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on the death of post-modernism…

For the last few years I have gleefully been telling people that I am “sooo Post-Modern.” It is a badge I have worn in a bizarre, almost fan-boyish sort of way. I would proudly talk about how much comfort I took in the “mystery” of life and how beautifully complicated the murky grays of moral ambiguity and free will made our existence. I railed against the evils of Modern thought and it’s attempts to define and systematize every part of the human experience.

But last night I had a profound shift in my philosophical and theological world view. I posted a few weeks ago a video from TED by a guy named Steven Johnson. One of the things he argued in his talk about how great ideas are generated is that they do not come as a sudden epiphany but rather build slowly in our minds over time until we finally realize they’re there. As I’ve been researching art and theology for my thesis I think this conclusion was building slowly in my words and thoughts. That conclusion? Post-Modernism is dying.

This I actually say without the least bit of sadness. See, what brought me to this point was the realization–through some of the stuff I was reading–of what the ultimate logical conclusion of Post-Modern thought is. Because I’m going to get a little into semantics it’s probably a good idea to offer some working definitions of what I mean by Modern and Post-Modern. When I say Modern I mean the idea that the ultimate goal of humanity and the pinnacle of human achievement is knowledge. From science to politics to theology we have worked to quantify, qualify, and categorize everything in our lives so that we can come up with the perfect systems for living life. When I say Post-Modern I am referring to the popular belief from the last few decades that this categorized life of Modernity is a sham, it’s a gnostic existence that lifts knowledge above experience. Instead Post-Modernism embraces human experience and relativism in an attempt to let everyone define what is true for themselves. Far be it from me to say that I know how to live life more rightly than you! But just as the clinical coldness of Modernism has failed to give us a formula for right living, Post-Modernism offers only a deconstruction of the human experience into a valueless abyss as an alternative.

We as human beings desperately long for meaningful connections with others. I believe, and have argued, that people are designed to live in relationship with others. We feel most complete when we have a community of people who love and care for us, when we have a place to belong. Those communities are always centered around some commonly held Truth that all members believe in. When I use the capital “T” Truth I’m referring to is not just scientific Truth like gravity or thermodynamics but also moral and spiritual Truth. If in a Modern world we slavishly twist every part of our lives into conformity with the Truth in exchange for community and identity, in a Post-Modern world we forfeit any meaningful existence because all absolute Truth must become relative truth (lowercase “t”). It is a world devoid of rules and meaning because what is real and important to me is never the exact same as what is real and important for you. Life is about finding the Truth to which we are willing to sacrifice our personal “truths” (lowercase “t”). For me this Truth is Christianity and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There is always going to be tension and ambiguity over things that some claim as Truth which others say is not, but to deny the existence of any Truth as Post-Modernism demands is to live a life without meaning. The balance is somewhere in the middle. Some people will claim that Truth is worth killing others over, I disagree and will stand against “Truth” that claims that. Post-Modernism importantly broke the iron grip of gnosticism Modernity had allowed to rule our existence, but in doing so it cut all lines and has drifted off into the dark night. We need anchors, we need Truths to which we can moor our lives. To a world and culture that is discovering the bankruptcy of a purely relativist worldview, to people who are tired of being adrift and alone, I will offer a humble invitation to experience a Truth to which they can cling and not face the darkness alone.

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Filed under: life by Jonathan

  • http://cleanpairofeyes.wordpress.com Brandon Baker

    I’m going to disagree here. Not with everything you wrote, just some of it.

    Postmodernism is not dying because it has not yet even been fully formed. You noted that so far postmodernism has been about deconstruction and rejecting absolute Truth. It’s a rebellion against modernism insatiable need to put everything into a box and dissect the living daylights out of it.

    I would argue that Postmodernism is actually growing. It’s beginning to mature past its adolescent deconstruction stage and is beginning to explore what it stands for rather than what it stands against.

    Naturally, some of the de-constructive aspects will fall away because in order to understand what you are, you will at some point have to stop focusing on what you are not. I think that’s where we’re headed.

    I think your observations are spot on, its just that those things will end up strengthening postmodernism rather than killing it.

  • Jonathan

    I have been know to indulge in hyperbole from time to time so you are probably right in saying Post-Modernism likely is not dying. But at least in the art world right now there is a fight going on between artists who want to return to “Modern” art and those who want to celebrate the chaos that Post-Modernism has created. It’s the whole art for arts sake crowd (i.e. Damien Hirst) and they drive me crazy.

    I do think Post-Modernism has to face the question of what it’s goals are though. It will sputter and stall as long as it maintains a position of distrust toward Truth. It’s kind of like why Anarchism has never really caught on as a form of government. Sounds great in theory but you quickly realize it’s just chaos. Not even famously “great in theory” Communism makes this error. People, life, needs structure and Post-Modernism doesn’t offer a viable option, at least not at the moment.

« on empirical morality… on thesis introductions… »

  • about me

    My name is Jonathan Assink.

    I'm a writer, photographer, baseball nut, foodie & lover of indie bands you've probably never heard of. I wrote a theology of justice for artists & love to talk about the intersection of art, faith & social justice. I am passionate about words & images. I have a heart for the city, for the church (in whatever form it takes) & for artists.

    Though inspired & influenced by many different people and experiences my words here are my own & do not represent the views of any organization I might be involved in.

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