In this article, I explore the intrinsic relationship between aesthetics and ethics in Deleuze’s philosophy. I additionally show how the notion of apprenticeship can help to clarify the relationship between the aesthetic and the ethical in Deleuze’s philosophy. For Deleuze, the question ‘How do we live a life?’ is a question that cuts across both aesthetics and ethics. A Deleuzian answer to this question may be: ‘We learn to live.’ The argument is developed in four sections. Firstly, I present a (...) general introduction to Deleuzian ethics, demonstrating Deleuze’s concerns with non-organism, non-representation, and bodily affect. Secondly, I explore how Deleuzian aesthetics relates to non-organism, non-representation, and hysteria. I then turn to the notion of apprenticeship to explore the systematicity between Deleuzian aesthetics and ethics. I examine apprenticeship from four perspectives—desire, violence, friendship, and structure. Finally, based on the systematicity provided by apprenticeship, I suggest the possibility of developing a Deleuzian postmodern aesthet/hics, that could underpin future thinking of an ethics based on aesthetic creation. (shrink)

The thesis of this essay is that the central postmodern challenge is to recover stable, objective normative standards that presuppose cultural renewal and liberal arts education building on the classical paideia of educating the whole person. Humans possess an innate moral sense that requires nurturing and developing to encompass both résumé and eulogy virtues as proposed by David Brooks’ The Road to Character. Wisdom-seeking traditions aim at self-mastery, but need tempering by neo-Kantian epistemological modesty to eschew utopias in their (...) quest for transcendence, recalling the Augustinian conception of humanity’s fallen nature, the need for community, the aspiration for good works in the City of Man, and the soul’s yearning for redemption and salvation in the City of God. The essay concludes with the “Angel Initiative” as an example of practical wisdom that reflects Brooks’ humility code, the wisdom-seeking traditions’ emphasis on the Way, and Christianity’s promise as “a religion of second chances.”. (shrink)

This paper has two main objectives. The first is to revitalize the notion of postmodern Confucianism after an interval of two decades by reviewing the early encounters between postmodern philosophy...

Preface and Postscript Combining a Preface with a Postscript seems a particularly apposite way to introduce (and conclude) a collection of essays on ...

An introduction to and critique of the latest trends in critical theory.

In the opening passages of A Short History of Ethics, Alasdair MacIntyre remarks that ‘moral philosophy is often written as if the history of the subject were only of secondary and incidental importance’. According to MacIntyre, the philosophical point of grappling with the history of moral philosophy lies in recognising its fundamental historicity ; that is, in recognising and dealing with the fact that ‘moral concepts are embodied in and are partially constitutive of forms of social life’. In this paper (...) I explore this thesis via a critical reconstruction of the social-theoretical cum ethical writings of the Polish-born critical theorist Zygmunt Bauman. More specifically, I develop a critical reconstruction of Bauman's guiding contentions that: a) attendant to the project of nation building, Western modernity gives rise to a historically determinate and historically specific form of moral discourse; b) the moral framework characteristic of Western modernity has been rendered problematic by the social, cultural and political developments associated with the ‘postmodern condition;’ and, c) in light of these developments, the demands of the day require a renewal of ethical thinking, if we are not to succumb to the contemporary dangers of atomisation, and the never-ending imperatives of hedonistic individualism and egocentric self-fulfilment. (shrink)

The postmodern era can be defined as a period in which absolute truths are questioned, realities are differentiated and these differences make them-selves felt strongly in social, cultural, economic, religious, etc. areas, and tech-nology is at the centre of individual and social life. In this period, con-ventio-nal lifestyles, social and cultural values, and traditional understan-dings of religiosity are being reshaped as a reflection of the search for a new reality. However, artificial intelligence, which is rapidly developing as a result (...) of the change and transformation in technological possibilities, is tho-ught to feed concerns in the context of both the opportunities it offers and the threats it poses to human values. Therefore, it is of great importance to examine the relationship between religion, which plays an important role in shaping social life, and religiosity, which is its form of practice, and the level of anxiety arou-sed by artificial intelligence, which is becoming increasingly visible in all areas of our lives. In this framework, the aim of the research is to examine religio-sity and artificial intelligence anxiety in the postmodern period in terms of various variables and to reveal the relationship between these two concepts. The study, which used the relational survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was carried out on 450 individuals between the ages of 17-49 residing in Polatlı district of Ankara province. The data obtained as a result of the research were analysed through SPSS 22.0 statistical software. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the participants' levels of religio-sity and artificial intelligence anxiety in the postmodern period were above the medium level. At the same time, it has been revealed that the levels of religiosity in the postmodern period are sta-tistically significantly higher for women than men, for individuals between the ages of 17-29 than those in other age groups, for single people than mar-ried people, for students, salaried employees in the public sector and sala-ried employees in the private sector than housewives, for bachelor's, mas-ter's and doctorate graduates than pri-mary, secondary and high school graduates, and for those who are interested in technological products than those who are uninterested and moderately interested. According to the monthly income level, the level of knowledge about artificial intelligence and the frequency of following the developments related to artificial intelli-gence, it was determined that the religiosity levels of individuals in the postmodern period did not differ statistically significantly. In addition, it was determined that artificial intelligence anxiety levels of the participants differed significantly according to their gender and women had higher anxiety levels than men. Again, it was determined that those with low level of knowledge about artificial intelligence had statistically significantly hig-her levels of artificial intelligence anxiety than those with medium level of knowledge and those who never follow the developments related to artifi-cial intelligence and those who rarely follow the developments related to artificial intelligence were statistically significantly higher than those who frequently and always follow the developments related to artificial intelli-gence. Similarly, it was concluded that artificial intelligence anxiety did not differ statistically significantly according to age groups, marital status, oc-cupational type, educational level, monthly income and frequency of fol-lowing technological developments. (shrink)

Let me forego all the usual caveats about the vagueness of the term postmodern, our inability to determine what postmodern might mean without first undertaking an exhaustive review of modernism, and the synchrony and dissonance of postmodernity with the equally problematic term poststructuralist. I'll just assume that Derrida, Foucault, and Lacan are among the important thinkers to have influenced the feminist demand to rethink subjectivity, and that Luce Irigaray and Julia Kristeva are two of the most significant and (...) interesting thinkers to have inflected this demand in feminist directions in the French context. (shrink)

The article presents theoretical generalization and offers new solutions to the problem of developing creative skills in preschoolers in painting classes, taking into account the postmodern tendencies which are becoming increasingly common in the post-Soviet countries. The relevance of the article lies in the need to reform today’s education system in the post-Soviet space and develop pedagogical technologies to enhance the effectiveness of preschool education and reveal the creative potential of each child in the context of the postmodernism and (...) the latest achievements in psychology of creativity. The paper aims to develop and theoretically justify a technology for developing creative skills in preschoolers in painting classes in educational institutions for the postcolonial democracies on the example of Ukraine based on the analysis of relevant scientific sources and teaching placement. The article also substantiates the technology for developing creative skills in preschoolers in painting classes, which is defined as a model for organizing artistic and aesthetic activity of preschoolers aimed at expanding their cognitive experience and emotional perception of the world, as well as cultivating their aesthetic attitude to its objects and ensuring creative self-expression of each child. The article proves the validity of the open performative postmodernist approach, according to which playing activities, perception and enjoyment from creativity act as the main drivers of the creative activity of primary school children. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Postmodern Assumptions of Philosophy of PsychiatryThe author reports no conflicts of interest.This paper makes claims for relevance of philosophy to psychopathology, as inspired in part by the work of Karl Jaspers. Yet there is no such thing as philosophy, in a general sense; there are philosophies, or as Jaspers would prefer, there is philosophizing (Ehrlich & George, 1994; Jaspers, 1951). Jaspers' approach to philosophy was akin to Freud's (...) approach to psychology: the goal was to make unconscious assumptions conscious. The unconscious assumption in the present paper is that there is such a thing as philosophy, which could then be useful for psychopathology. In effect, the author is probably meaning academic philosophy, or mainstream thinking in current philosophy of psychiatry. If that is the meaning, then Jaspers' question would be: What are the unconscious underlying assumptions of modern academic philosophy of psychiatry? The author's paper does not ask that question. But if we do, my answer would be that current mainstream philosophy of psychiatry has a basic worldview, another concept very central to Jaspers' thinking (Rindermann, 2021). Its worldview is postmodernist relativism about truth and skepticism about science, especially biology as applied to psychiatry. This unconscious assumption in modern philosophy of psychiatry is a major impediment in any benefits it might provide to psychiatry and psychopathology, as will be explained in the rest of this commentary.The paper refers to major depressive disorder (MDD) without appreciating that the term itself makes assumptions which the paper wishes to argue should be in the province of philosophy to analyze. The term MDD is not the same as depression, although the paper synonymizes the two. This synonym is an unanalyzed assumption, namely, that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) diagnostic system validly defines psychopathology. It clearly does not, for reasons that modern philosophy of psychiatry has not accurately analyzed (Ghaemi, 2014).About a decade ago, when DSM-5 was being developed, colleagues in the field of philosophy of psychiatry had worked for decades on psychiatric diagnosis, and there was initial hope that the time had come for an impact (Kendler et al., 2008). The leader of the prior edition of DSM was unhappy [End Page 17] with the fifth revision. A set of essays were published where philosophers and psychiatrists engaged the former DSM leader about psychiatric diagnosis (Frances, 2013). His response, with a somewhat derisive reference to "philosophyland," was eye opening to me. He explicitly stated that DSM revisions were not based on science or facts, but on "pragmatism," on the beliefs of DSM leaders about what was best for the profession or society. In short, it was admitted that DSM was a social construction, just as postmodern thinking had said about psychiatric diagnosis since Foucault. Yet this admission was made unconsciously; DSM leadership does not use that phrase, nor does it understand its conceptual foundations. Surprisingly to me, colleagues in the world of philosophy and psychiatry also failed to make the obvious connection, or if they did, they seemed to have little problem with it (Phillips et al., 2012). Social constructionism was their worldview too.In effect, philosophy of psychiatry had nothing to provide; it did not analyze or critique the philosophical worldview of DSM leadership; it shared that worldview and participated in it (Kendler, 2013).The result, in my view, is that mainstream philosophy of psychiatry has failed in the role which it could have played, the role of making the unconscious postmodern assumptions of psychiatry conscious, and criticizing those assumptions. Instead, it applauded them.My broader critique of mainstream philosophy of psychiatry gets played out in papers such as this one in relation to the DSM term MDD, which should be dropped because it is not a scientifically sound term; it has many conceptual and scientific falsehoods within it, which both a philosophical analysis and a scientific analysis would demonstrate.The term MDD was invented in the DSM-III process in the late 1970s to get votes for passage of that third revision by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980 (Decker, 2013). It literally was a social construction. To the extent that it had any scientific basis, it had its roots in the... (shrink)

In modern society, a transformation of the sociocultural functions of religion is observed. One of the approaches in the social-religious sphere is the interpretation in light of postmodernism. In particular, the condition endured by religion is characterised as “postmodernist.” The given condition can be interpreted by an involvement of the gnoseological, ontological, and sociological components. Postmodernity assigns an interpersonal place for religion. The given tendency testifies to both pluralistic religious consciousness and an individualisation of religion which, according to the statement (...) of many researchers, are characteristic features of a modern society. At the same time, the break from religious totality and the variety of religious practices, conditioned by individualisation characteristic of the postmodern, deconstruction, the desacralisation of religion, and pluralistic religious consciousness, are observed. As noted above, one of the features of the postmodernist condition of religion is its politicisation. Hence, the analysis of sociocultural functions of religion reveals the features of its transformation in the postmodern situation, in particular, through the consideration of representations of the postmodern in the socio-religious sphere, points of contact between the postmodern and religion, and a strengthening of the tendency of self-expression by means of various identities as a result of the influence of the postmodern, including the religious. (shrink)

For the first time, the article analyses certain aspects of Russian poetry of the “Silver Age” in order to identify the rudiments or features which are characteristic of the postmodern creative paradigm. It is noted that a number of poets almost do not have any postmodernist tendencies. Despite the fact it is proved that postmodernism denies the personality-centric and aesthetically oriented concept of modernism, it nevertheless arose on the basis of modernism and has sharpened evolutionary features formulated in the (...) first half of the 20th century. The article aims to prove a hypothesis that arises in the authors during a preliminary perceptual reading of the poets` works of the “Silver Age”: in the early 20th century. Sporadically and consistently in individual authors can be observed irony, play, reconstruction and performance as precursor of postmodernist creative thinking. Specialties of the Russian poetry of the “Silver Age”, which directly correlate with postmodernist tendencies of the second half of the 20th century is not a description itself, but the realization of reality, ambivalence, as well as following the linguistic and figurative, conceptual, motive levels of gradual transitions between the paradigms of “symbolism – modernism” and “modernism – postmodernism”. The international significance of the article is that the material of one of the Eastern European literatures has proved the existence of postmodern features in the first half of the 20th century for the first time, which can serve as a deeper research in the field of literary typology, continuity; culturology and anthropology. (shrink)

The paper considers the philosophical relationship between the form and the shape through the meaning of conceptualist art, which Arthur Coleman Danto emphasizes in his aesthetic theory. Even though modern art from the beginning of the 20th century signalled the break between the form and the shape, it has fully come to life in the postmodern sense. It will be shown that conceptual artists have understood how it is possible to keep the shape of a thing without changing its (...) form, with the idea displacing it from a predetermined function. For conceptual, postmodern art, it will be decisive to keep the shape while changing the form in which such a work of art is created, changing the character of things that were not a work of art until then. According to Hartmann’s aesthetic theory, this creates a unique aesthetic object that does not rest on the work of art itself but its perception. Danto exemplified such a path with Duchamp’s Fountain and Warhol’s Brillo Box, which witnessed a change of the form while retaining the shape, establishing postmodern aesthetics as essentially conceptual. (shrink)

First published in 1994. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The article talks about the postmodern education system, its focus on the modernization of distance learning in connection with quarantine, which requires new integration approaches to the organization and content of the educational process in higher education institutions. Innovative pedagogical technologies of distance learning are analyzed, in particular, the essence of inverted learning technology is described. A systematic approach to the integration processes in postmodern education as a result of the search for new innovations and the organization of (...) distance learning as a universal and most humanistic form of learning, which initiates multivariate strategies for the innovation process in the hyperspace of European education and cultivates the integration of educational values. The author's ideas on creating optimal conditions for the adaptation of a particular applicant for higher education to the requirements of the distance learning and professional environment with an innovative information technology system are substantiated. The optimal conditions for the information-technological system of activating interactive communication of all participants of the educational process not only of a certain university, but also outside it, thanks to Smart-learning are determined. Innovative changes in personnel management of postmodern education as the main factor of effective strategy of management of distance learning, capable to be provided only by competitive teachers with a high level of display of creativity in professional skill are outlined. Algorithms of optimal actions of personnel management on introduction of innovative technologies of distance learning in the conditions of quarantine taking into account prevention of conflicts and crisis states at participants of educational process in the conditions of pandemics and unexpected educational changes are developed. (shrink)

Reasonable relativism, the view that judgments ought to be contextualized and that the contexts themselves keep realigning as such acts of judgments are undertaken, anchors a certain variant of postmodernism, the one explored here. Eschewing radical relativism with its nihilism on the one end of the spectrum and solipsism on the other, in what follows the potential for what may be called, provisionally, postmodern relativism, is explored. In this view, there is an opportunity to examine under what conditions multiple (...) views, some contradictory, some complementary, may be found useful in the affairs of the state. The crux of the test for postmodern pluralism is how it contextualizes decision-making processes, the adaptation of public policies, and the moral judgments to which they appeal. Admittedly, it’s difficult to conduct this test since any behavior within a relativized context is itself dynamic and thereby changes the context itself. (shrink)

Chapter 5 shows how, in the slipstream of Habermas’ demand for Critical Theory to justify itself vis-a-vis existing society, the postmodern turn in the Frankfurt School spread the allegation that critique and theory have never been justifiable. That is because critique, in this new postmodern world, is scorned for being ‘paternalistic’ if not ‘authoritarian’, and theory is accused of being ‘metaphysical’ if not ‘totalitarian’. Against these allegations, chapter 5 defends critique, theory and their dialectics in Critical (Marxist) Theory, (...) thus refuting the self-postmodernisation of the Frankfurt School as a kind of ‘Post-Critical Post-Theory’. (shrink)

Ethics praxis is theory and method of joined ethics action, learning, and change. A key dimension of praxis is voice. Praxis is important because it can help enable and actualize ethical voice and character of individuals, stakeholders, and organizations. The article first considers how the concept of praxis has evolved from Aristotle through modernism to postmodernism. A case of an organization from 1824 to 1980 is presented where different types of ptemodem, modem, and postmodern praxis are illustrated. The methods (...) illustrated in the case are different forms of single, double, and triple-loop action-learning. It is suggested that a postmodern, action-learning approach of critical, self-critical, and even ambivalent stakeholder voice can help stimulate and enable ethical individual, stakeholder, and organizational character. (shrink)

The problem of the correlation of the postmodern and consciousness can be considered in the following measurements: contemporaneity and consciousness, contemporaneity and the postmodern, the postmodern and consciousness, interference of two concepts and consciousness in the postmodern context, and the consciousness of the postmodern. Contemporaneity is a state of consciousness. It derives the strength of truthfulness not from historicity, but from urgency. The postmodern situation in each concrete society is characterised by the historical and (...) cultural parameters, accordingly the sociocultural differences of public consciousness. Hence, a variability of a reflection of the postmodern shows in a public consciousness when approaching the given problems causes the reference to experience the tendencies in a concrete society. Today, speaking about the dynamics of the development of public consciousness, it is possible to notice the renunciation of stereotypes of the past and a movement towards both cultural and political plurality. The given tendency is expressed in the break from the modern and the movement towards the postmodern. The above-mentioned testifies to the variability of answers to the challenges of the present in non-Western countries as a consequence of the sociocultural ground’s individuality and the dynamic and reflective essence of public consciousness expressed in the social phenomena and ethoses, in particular, in the postmodern tendency as an indicator of its modification and development. (shrink)

I explain what I understand the term ‘postmodern’ to mean, and how I propose to use the term in relation to Emerson. I adduce Richard Rorty, Slavoj Žižek, Cornell West, Jean-François Lyotard, and Gilles Deleuze to characterize the idea of postmodernism that I want to use in talking about Emerson. The primary idea is Lyotard’s definition of the postmodern as “an incredulity toward metanarratives.” What I understand Lyotard to be describing as postmodern is a commitment to resist (...) and undo the metanarratives that oppress people: metanarratives of capitalism, of Christianity, of race, of gender, of morality, of class, of nationality, et cetera. All of these metanarratives have been used to construct identities, but they all also oppress. I understand postmodernism as a philosophy that tries to end or limit oppression, but leaving us without much to construct an identity. I see Emerson as agreeing that the problem is oppression, that Emerson sees the problem as a problem of metanarratives, although he does not use that term, but that Emerson provides us with what postmodernism does not provide us, a way of constructing an identity without the metanarratives. We can construct an identity out of our relation to Nature. (shrink)

This paper explores the question of the purpose of education within the context of Lyotardȁ9s framing of the postmodern condition. It points to some of the continuities and discontinuities in the framing of the current condition as postmodern and the recurrent problematics of truth-telling which is the mark of this condition. It suggests that educationally the postmodern condition is marked by lifelong learning, a constant apprenticeship rather than mastery, where in language stutters.

_One of our most influential political theorists offers a boundary-breaking—and liberating—perspective on the meaning of life in the internet age_ Human beings have taken one thing for granted since our earliest days: we are bodily creatures dealing with one another on a face-to-face basis. The internet has shattered this fundamental feature of human existence. We are suddenly living our lives in two worlds at once—shifting endlessly from virtual to physical reality as we reach out to others. Worse yet, we are (...) developing different personal identities in our two worlds. We say and do things in virtual reality that flatly contradict our face-to-face commitments to family, friends, and fellow-workers—and vice versa. _The Postmodern Predicament _explores these dilemmas at each phase of the life cycle, beginning at the moment a young child picks up a cell phone. The existentialist tradition of the twentieth century provides a precious perspective on our postmodern dilemmas. Thinkers and doers like Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre considered the fragmentation of modern life as a central source of contemporary anxieties. Like them, Ackerman views the challenges of the internet age as a political, no less than personal, problem—and proposes concrete reforms that that could mobilize broad-based support for democracy against demagogic assaults on its very foundations. (shrink)

In this work, Colleen Clements presents her case for the need to subject the field of bioethics to a critical external analysis apart from the current postmodern assumptions. Clements argues that, since the 1970s, bioethics has refuted human values in favour of political consensus building. This failure to recognize basic human values in the ethical critique of modern medicine has lead to a dehumanization of the medical system by the field. Clements proceeds to advocate a naturalistic theory of bioethics (...) that reinstates primary human values. (shrink)

Today, one of the essential tendencies is the interpretation of the modern world in the focus of the new cultural and social form that is postmodern. In general, postmodernism is interpreted as a breakaway from many cultural imperatives that form the basis of life in the West. To some extent, it proceeds from the idea that the modern does not justify hope. In this prism, the analysis of contemporaneity and the postmodern as two correlated paradigms that also to (...) some extent oppose one another is actualized. “The local ” and “the global” act as two sides of the postmodern that change into each other. The postmodernist theory, cancelling the rational and common subject of the modernist theory, replaces it in the social and linguistic aspects of the fragmented subject. In this connection, we should note that postmodernism not only notes the fact that the contemporary culture has a diverse structure, but also suggests evaluating this diversity and pluralism as positive events. (shrink)

This chapter defines the basic characteristics of postmodernity, making a distance from the previous period of development of society. That difference, which is reflected in the transformation of society, reflects the modeling of the self on multiple levels. Here, special attention is paid to the ontology and epistemology of the postmodern self, to later move on to the analysis of postmodern morality as the politics of the postmodern self and the relationship between the crisis of representation and (...) the postmodern self. (shrink)

The radical changes that take place in the social world always directly or indirectly affect the content and forms of functioning of the religious complex in society. Significantly influenced by this process, as shown, were the Renaissance and Modern times, which through secularization processes brought to life new types of religiosity. Undoubtedly, they are greatly influenced by the proliferation and establishment of postmodern worldviews.

Climate change presents a fundamental challenge to the current global energy regime. Under the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community is developing the architecture of a policy response. Three serious flaws are examined: (a) the potential sacrifice of small island states, (b) the use of market-based policy measures to commodify the atmospheric commons, and (c) the substitution of carbon sequestration for meaningful reductions in energy use. The authors’ analysis of the politics of climate change, based on these issues, (...) suggests a new understanding of ecology is emerging—what they term postmodern ecology—in which a global environmental crisis is risked to secure the future of the world energy regime. An alternative, based on principles of sustainability and equity, is proposed that would require abandoning the global energy status quo. (shrink)

Recent developments in ethics and postmodemist epistemology have set the stage for a reconceptualization of environmental ethics. In this paper, I sketch a path for postmodemism which makes use of certain notions current in contemporary environmentalism. At the center of my thought is the idea of place: (1) place as the context of our lives and the setting in which ethical deliberation takes place; and (2)the epistemological function of place in the construction of our understandings of self, community, and world. (...) Central to these themes, in tum, are the related notions of myth, narrative, storied residence, and ethical vernacular. (shrink)

Postmodernist thought reacts to this crisis in truth and knowing with radical scepticism, assuming that conventional value systems and epistemologies have failed. The research determines the impact of postmodern thought on theological interpretations. This study favors infinite viewpoints over cohesive systems of thought and belief, interpretation over meaning, relativism over objective truth, and tangible principles over abstract representations. The persistence and even resurgence of religion and religious fundamentalism in a contemporary historical moment otherwise marked by the pervasive influence of (...) postmodernist tenets in secular life presents a striking paradox, given that Western religion insists upon exclusive universalized truths and principles. This article examines the connection between religion and postmodernism, contrasting the more intellectual outlook of postmodernism with the pluralistic and media-driven lifestyle of postmodernity. It distinguishes postmodern, modern, and traditional worldviews, emphasizing how modernity welcomed science while traditional societies observed to sacred scriptures for insight. However, postmodernism today disavows overarching narratives, or "metanarratives," after realizing the shortcomings of the scientific worldview. The article challenges this rejection, especially from the perspective of Jacques Derrida's deconstructionism. It contends that religious traditions continue to affirm the necessity of such perspectives even as postmodernism rejects the idea of a universal worldview. The author emphasizes the human need for coherence and purpose and argues that religious worldviews comprehensively explain reality. The paper found that arguing for a fresh understanding of the metaphysical lessons that the major global religions have to give, arguing that they provide a more positive substitute for postmodernism's disjointed and relativistic study. (shrink)

This book provides an introduction to the emerging field of Continental philosophy of religion by treating the philosophical thought of its most important representatives, including its appropriations by several thinkers in the US. Part I provides a context to the field by looking at the religious aspects of the thought of Martin Heidegger, Emmanuel Lévinas, and Jacques Derrida. It contends that although the work of these thinkers is not apologetic in nature, it prepares the ground for the more religiously motivated (...) work of more recent thinkers by giving religious language and ideas some legitimacy in philosophical discussions. Part II devotes a chapter to each of the contemporary French thinkers who articulate a phenomenology of religious experience: Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Luc Marion, Michel Henry, Jean-Louis Chrétien, Jean-Yves Lacoste and Emmanuel Falque. This part argues that their respective philosophies can be read as an apologetics of sort, namely as making arguments for the coherence of thought about God and the viability of religious experience, though each does so in a different fashion and to a different degree. Part III considers the three major thinkers who have popularized and extended this phenomenology in the US context: Merold Westphal, John D. Caputo, and Richard Kearney. The book thus both provides an introduction to important contemporary thinkers many of whom have not yet received much treatment in English and also argues that their philosophies can be read as providing an argument for Christian faith. (shrink)

We live in the age of postmodernism. What does that mean? With a call for essays, we asked for proposals for a better understanding. At the same time, we were looking for posts that show how the arts have processed and are still processing the change from the modern to the postmodern selfconception of man, which has been described by philosophy since the 1950s to today. This special issue thus demonstrates how architects, designers and artists have reacted to the (...) new socio-politically relevant concepts of postmodernism. -/- With contributions of Simone Kraft on architecture, Arianna Fantuzzi on self-portraits, Stephan Schmidt-Wulffen on visual arts in the 1980s, Anna Kristensson on design, Iris Laner on postmodern theory and the work of Jeff Wall, Christiane Wagner on postmodern avatars and finally, I contributed with a text on the deconstruction of the familiar in postmodern theory and the work of Karin Kneffel. (shrink)

The traditional perspective on self-deception, which assumes that the mind can be simultaneously involved in contradictory stories, and that there is an integrated understanding of the "truth" somewhere inside, is apparent in most contemporary theories of psychology. A critique of the phenomenon from a postmodern perspective raises questions regarding these assumptions. Ideas from evolutionary biology and research concerning hypnotically induced amnesia are used to support the thesis that self-deception is more a cultural phenomenon maintained by the observer, than a (...) natural phenomenon situated in the individual mind. (shrink)

Throughout recent discussions of race, gender, and identity, both sides of the political spectrum avoid addressing the central concept of what the “Other” is. Using the psychoanalytic insights of Slavoj Zizek combined with the philosophical writings of Jean Baudrillard and Albert Camus, this paper will argue for the rejection of left liberalism, political correctness, and conservative cultural theory due to their inability to allow the subject more freedoms in relation to the Other. In postmodern times we find that the (...) left has been duped into continuing the proliferation of conservative cultural ideology and that political correctness only works to continue capitalism as an acceptable economic structure. Finally, this paper looks at Zizek and Camus’ writings on possible solutions to this problem of identity being linked to capitalism. (shrink)

Jean-François Lyotard explored ideas about the nature of knowledge, performativity, and other topics in ‘The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge’ (1984). On the nature of knowledge, Lyotard questioned the totalizing effect of modernity’s grand narratives and the neglect of narrative knowledge. Although Lyotard’s focus is on post-industrial Western countries, some of his ideas appear useful for non-European societies, and in the case of this article, African societies. The Afrocentric pursuit has emerged as a result of the politics of (...) knowledge and the dislocation of African worldviews and knowledge systems. Lyotard’s discussion of the possibilities for multiple narratives and his critique of universalizing narratives align with Afrocentric claims about the plurality of knowledge and knowing, as well as the quest for African agency. The article draws on Lyotard’s expositions on the nature of knowledge to discuss the prospects for and tensions in attaining the Afrocentric goal in Ghana’s neoliberalized higher education space. On the future of the university, while Lyotard predicts the ‘death of the professor’ in industrialized societies, Ghana’s academy is still grappling with how to make both the professor and the university relevant to their societies—a central ideal of Afrocentricity. (shrink)

Olkowski proposes a model of phenomenology, both scientific and philosophical, that helps make sense of reality and composes an ethics for dealing with unpredictability in our world.

In this short paper—little more than a note, even a short “contrarian” sermon for this anniversary volume—what I do is argue that even the allegedly most “revolutionary” inventions of our computer-driven age are not revolutionary in the sense that their impacts are “driving” society. Some of them are genuinely revolutionary, I admit, but in the reverse direction. The inventions don’t “impact societies”; rather, particular communities within society use the technical languages that are at their core, invent them, embed them in (...) machines, and so on. It is not inventions but particular groups within modern—and so-called postmodern—societies that have invented and use technical languages which are embedded in gadgets that are said to “drive” modern or postmodern societies. And they do so only in one sense: they were invented and are used by various communities in our kinds of societies for a variety of ends. And if this is so, and if we feel those ends are undemocratic or positively anti-democratic, I conclude that we should resist them any way we can, even politically. (shrink)

This article discusses the turn to polytheism in postmodern theory. In postmodernism, there is a strong interest in polytheism as an alternative to the much-criticized dominance of onto-theology in the philosophical tradition. The article argues that the new polytheism cannot be unequivocally understood as an alternative for an onto-theological way of thinking, or as a ‘liberation’ from monotheism. Already in Romanticism, the engagement with polytheism and paganism was ambiguous. There was the familiar superiority of Christian monotheism over polytheism. But (...) there was also an appropriation of polytheism that served a new self-perception of the West. This article focuses on this second line of interpretation and argues that postmodern theory inherits the theo-political concerns central to eighteenth- and nineteenth- century Romanticism. The article sets out to sketch the role of polytheism in a post-secular paradigm. Subsequently, it sketches the engagement with polytheism in British and German Romanticism. It will be argued that in Romanticism, polytheism was always embedded in more substantial cultural and political narratives. The remainder of the article will scrutinize the function of polytheism in the writings of Richard Rorty and John Milbank and how their respective forms of polytheism give way to different political theologies. (shrink)

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The implementation of education programmes in different cultures invites the question whether we are justified in doing so in cultures that may reject the programmes’ underlying principles. Are there indeed ethical principles and educational ideals that can be justified as applicable to all cultures? After a consideration of Zygmunt Bauman's postmodern rejection of the possibility of universal ethics, Ι cite and extend Harvey Siegel's defence of multiculturalism as a transcultural ethical ideal. I conclude the paper with a justification of (...) the transcultural normative reach of moral principles that I have elsewhere defended as the ethics of integrity. The paper's significance lies in its justification of educational interventions founded in these principles across different cultures. (shrink)

The centrality of human-machine weapon systems is a key aspect of postmodern war. Since 1939 such systems have proliferated while improved interfaces have led to several types of actual cyborg soldiers. As the crisis of postmodern war deepens it is producing a series of quite different militarized bodies. Cyborgs proliferate in type so it is no surprise that we have pilot-cyborgs and teleoperators, info-cyborgs (from political operatives to clerks and including all the servants of the computers and weapons (...) systems), and various fighting cyborg soldiers and sailors. There has also been a resurgence of a type of irregular warrior that many commentators describe as bestial. It is not a coincidence that while humanity is on the verge of producing real posthumans (quite possibly for military applications) so-called ‘prehuman’ types of war have broken out across the globe. War is based on bodies and its skewed logics have driven many cyborgian developments. Now, both war and our cyborg society are involved in a linked crisis fuelled by the relentless march of technoscience that has made modern war impossible and posthumans probable. The future of the human, and of a multitude of potential posthumanities, will largely be determined by how this crisis is resolved. (shrink)

Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era provided the first introduction and analysis of contemporary concepts of curriculum development in relation to postmodernism. It challenged educators to transcend purely traditional approaches to curriculum development and instead incorporate various postmodern discourses into their reflection and action in schools. Since publication in 1995, the curriculum studies field has exploded, the very notion of the postmodern has shifted, and the landscape of American schooling has changed dramatically-federal policies like No Child Left (...) Behind have dramatically increased the focus on accountability and consequently what and how teachers teach. The need to understand curriculum in relation to global religions, ethnic relations, multicultural communities, and socio-political interest groups has been magnified. Controversial issues such as biology, gender roles, academic freedom, religion and prayer in schools, gay straight alliances, GLBT literature in the curriculumstudies is theorized. In this much-anticipated and thoroughly updated edition, noted curriculum studies scholar Patrick Slattery tackles these and other issues to reflect on the current state of curriculum development and on where the field may go from here. (shrink)