Saturday, December 22, 2007

The Political Implications of Postmodernism

I picked up Gene Edward Veith's Postmodern Times today, and was again struck by what a particularly ripe book it is for undermining Liberalism and the rusty Postmodernism that holds it up. Here's a great quote.

Let us recall the tenets of postmodernist iedology, as we have seen them emerge in the previous chapters:
(1) Social Constructivism. Meaning, morality, and truth do not exist objectively; rather they are constructed by the society
(2) Cultural Determinism. Individuals are wholly shaped by cultural forces. Language in particular determines what we can think, trapping us in a "prison house of language."
(3) The Rejection of Individual Identity. People exist primarily as members of groups. The phenomenon of American individualism is itself a construction of American culture with its middle-class values of independence and introspection, but it remains an illusion. Identity is primarily collective.
(4) The Rejection of Humanism. Values that emphasize the creativity, autonomy, and priority of human beings are misplaced. There is no universal humanity since every culture constitutes its own reality. Traditional humanistic values are canons of exclusion, oppression, and crimes against the natural environment. Groups must empower themselves to assert their own values and to take their place with their own planetary species.
(5) The Denial of the Transcendent. There are no absolutes. Even if there were, we would have no access to them since we are bound to our culture and imprisoned in out language.
(6) Power Reductionism. All institutions, all human relationships, all moral values, and all human creations--from works of art to religious ideologies--are all expressions and masks of the primal will to power.
(7) The Rejection of Reason. Reason and the impulse to objectify truth are illusory masks for cultural power. Authenticity and fulfillment come from submerging the self into a larger group, releasing one's natural impulses such as honest emotion and sexuality, cultivating subjectivity, and developing a radical openness to existence by refusing to impose order on one's life.
(8) Revolutionary Critique of the Existing Order. Moder society with its rationalism, order, and unitary view of truth needs to be replaced by a new world order. Scientific Knowledge reflects an outdated modernism, though the new electronic technology holds great promise. Segmentation of society into its constiuent groups will allow for a true cultural pluralism. The old order must be swept away, to be replaced by a new, as yet unclearly defined, mode of communal existence.


Isn't it scary? Let's pray to the Objective, Absolute Heavenly Father that this will never happen.

7 Comments:

Josh said...

Your ideas are intriguing and far ahead of the curve for people twice your age. I'm very impressed by your ability to articulate ideas in writing. Keep up the good work.

Based on your comment that you won't be voting in 08, I assume that you're just about to start looking for a good place to go to college. I'm not sure where you're from, or what field you're going into, but based on your views and your ability to temper critical thinking with morality I'd like to suggest that you look into Whitworth University in Spokane Washington. I think you'd fit right in.

FYI, I found you on Debate.com. If you're interested in debating me my username is collegebro, or e-mail me - Josh.Kuhn@gmail.com

Sola Gratia said...

Thank you. Very kind of you to say so. I think my ability to articulate sometimes surpasses my ideas, however ;)

I will certainly look into Whitworth University. Thanks for the tip! I hope you continue to read my blog.

Anonymous said...

hmmm, that was a pretty good book, but i have to say it just doesn't compare with the Reflections of the Revolution of France ;)

pianochick_92 said...

AGH! Susan, I HATED THAT BOOK! And I have to admit, Postmodern Times wasn't a whole lot better to me,LOL. I mean, what he said was true, for the most part anyway, but....yeah, I guess that those books just aren't for me,LOL.

Anonymous said...

yeah, i'm just kidding i hated it too. didn't get a word of it, lol

madscientist said...

lol, yeah, that was pretty bad...WHO AM I KIDDING?!?! gosh, it was only the WORST one last year!! lol, we're all still whining about one book? we need to grow up! ;-)

Sola Gratia said...

LOL, I still think Of Plymouth Plantation was worse. Okay, Andrew, I'll grow up.