Rant Against Postmodernism
I am totally against Postmodernism in its many forms, I am also against modernism in many of its form but that is another post for another day. There are several essential reasons why I am against postmodernism. The first is that we are to close to modernity to be able to dub anytime as “postmodern.” My preference here is to refer to the time we are living in as post-industrial, this I have admittedly come to believe as the proper designation due to some long discussions with my Faculty advisor Bud Hartley at Lancaster Theological Seminary. It is obvious to me that we have moved from an industrial society to one that capitalizes on information and the spread of information rather than products. I will hereafter on this blog refer to “Postmodern” as post-industrial, and post-industrialist. With any labels there are always issues but this label satisfies me and hey…it’s my blog.
Post-industrialist assume that all voices are equally valid and matter. While this is in essence true it does not mean that all voices are equally valuable, and that they matter to people in the everyday life. This is where my Methodism starts to shine through a bit. What is the use of knowledge if it doesn’t matter to the person on the street? The average person I come into contact with has one of two options with the multiplicity of post-industrialism at work. The first option is “what difference does this opinion mean? I can’t put food on my table.” While being smart with our money is important and spending it in places that will help people like in Fair Trade is an excellent way to practice stewardship it is not always practical. If I can’t eat the fact that I know feminism, and know about the plight of plantation workers in Mexico doesn’t make a bit of difference. It just serves to make me feel guilty while I buy the el-cheapo version of coffee or tea. The second option is, “oh all these voices, I can’t make a decision on my own.” What this boils down to is that a person is so worried about devaluing another person’s voice that they never gain their own. All of us have run into these people, they’re the ones who spend more time quoting than thinking. I’ve run into more teachers and preachers like this than anything else.
Post-industrial philosophical thought gets its start in the works of Sartre. One of the biggest issues in this form of philosophy is words and the relativism of words. Frankly I feel that its utter non-sense (maybe that’s the point though). While it is interesting speculation it again does nothing for the here and now. It doesn’t matter to me that this word has been understood differently through its various stages in time. It doesn’t matter that the word brings certain pictures to mind and that miscommunication is rampant because of it. Post-industrial philosophy has not solved the miscommunication; in fact it has only served to muddy the waters even more. Its interesting thought but in the end I have to use words, I have to communicate and the fact that the words meaning will change doesn’t make a bit of difference. To me this is like the question that of whether we are a dream in the mind of God and once God wakes up we will all disappear (or the version that is in the Men in Black movie, the marbles scenario). It doesn’t matter we have to live in the here and now and deal with what we have.
I will readily admit that for the sake of space I am going to do another rant on Post-industrialism at some point. The reason being is this post is getting long as it is and I haven’t dealt with cultural relativism, not to mention religious relativism. I will also admit that I am not an expert on post-industrialism, and I know if any philosophers read my blog I stand the possibility of getting blasted because I’m not a “philosopher.” My premeditated response is that I am alive, therefore I am a philosopher.
Post-industrialist assume that all voices are equally valid and matter. While this is in essence true it does not mean that all voices are equally valuable, and that they matter to people in the everyday life. This is where my Methodism starts to shine through a bit. What is the use of knowledge if it doesn’t matter to the person on the street? The average person I come into contact with has one of two options with the multiplicity of post-industrialism at work. The first option is “what difference does this opinion mean? I can’t put food on my table.” While being smart with our money is important and spending it in places that will help people like in Fair Trade is an excellent way to practice stewardship it is not always practical. If I can’t eat the fact that I know feminism, and know about the plight of plantation workers in Mexico doesn’t make a bit of difference. It just serves to make me feel guilty while I buy the el-cheapo version of coffee or tea. The second option is, “oh all these voices, I can’t make a decision on my own.” What this boils down to is that a person is so worried about devaluing another person’s voice that they never gain their own. All of us have run into these people, they’re the ones who spend more time quoting than thinking. I’ve run into more teachers and preachers like this than anything else.
Post-industrial philosophical thought gets its start in the works of Sartre. One of the biggest issues in this form of philosophy is words and the relativism of words. Frankly I feel that its utter non-sense (maybe that’s the point though). While it is interesting speculation it again does nothing for the here and now. It doesn’t matter to me that this word has been understood differently through its various stages in time. It doesn’t matter that the word brings certain pictures to mind and that miscommunication is rampant because of it. Post-industrial philosophy has not solved the miscommunication; in fact it has only served to muddy the waters even more. Its interesting thought but in the end I have to use words, I have to communicate and the fact that the words meaning will change doesn’t make a bit of difference. To me this is like the question that of whether we are a dream in the mind of God and once God wakes up we will all disappear (or the version that is in the Men in Black movie, the marbles scenario). It doesn’t matter we have to live in the here and now and deal with what we have.
I will readily admit that for the sake of space I am going to do another rant on Post-industrialism at some point. The reason being is this post is getting long as it is and I haven’t dealt with cultural relativism, not to mention religious relativism. I will also admit that I am not an expert on post-industrialism, and I know if any philosophers read my blog I stand the possibility of getting blasted because I’m not a “philosopher.” My premeditated response is that I am alive, therefore I am a philosopher.
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