Summary of Postmodernism

Postmodernists think that is impossible to describe reality correctly.

The fundamental principles of this current are given by the most important thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century like F. Nietzsche, L. Wittgenstein, K. Popper and T. Kuhn.

Nothing is able to give a true definition of reality because it is constantly evolving and human minds are imperfect.

Taborsky states that you have to accept the limits of your mind to create the basis of thought.

Interesting is postmodernists observation that we can imagine things that do not really exist and we cannot imagine things that do really exist.

Recently some of the ideas found in postmodernism are promoted in a new paradigm within constructivist epistemology.

According to K. Lasn, postmodernism is a depressing and difficult understanding philosophy and humans are stuck in a permanent crisis of meaning, impossible to get out.

Humans' language and humans' senses are not enough to really understand and communicate reality and that's why philosophers never succeed to describe it. This impossibility make the crisis of humans' mind grow and make postmodernism idea born: there is no skill suitable  to describe reality.

The only proof of this theory lies  in historical experience and a century before C. Darwin said that “it is those who know little who assert that this or that problem will never be solved”.

Postmodernism is larger than an art and literature period; it is a reaction to certainty of scientific efforts to explain reality.

For the postmodernist  truth is relative and it s against general definitions.

The experience of the individual will necessary be fallible and relative.

“Post”modernism denies the existance of any ultimate principles.

Everyone experiences existing in the same place, thus gives space both connotation of concrete experience and abstract principle.

According to the philosopher R. Tarnas, truth “cannot justify itself any more than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind has defined itself.”

Uncertainty prevented postmodernism to argue against a true knowledge of reality. That means postmodernist cannot give a true definition to real knowledge, it follows that you cannot know  if our senses tells us the truth.

Even in ancient Greece philosophers used to discuss about that matter. They used to say, in fact, that if the real truth cannot be known, then neither what the person claimed was real, so no one knew a thing.

A postmodernist is limited to cultural truths and truths relating to my personal experiences. Which longs from the real truth.

The knowing of the reality would end the so-called ‘postmodernism’.

The problem with Postmodernism is that with this lack of knowing, we cannot understand how to act in the environment wisely.

Postmodernism brought positive values as well, like ‘tolerance’, as every culture and religion was then able to say that their opinions are as valid as the other’s because there was no real truth to be arguing about.

As there was not a definite ‘Truth’, there could not even be a definite sureness in men’s evolution, relation with the matter and so forth.

‘Relative truths’ instead of ‘tolerance’ brought war, because people did not understand other cultures because of their minds way too closed.

The solution is to leave ‘Postmodern Relativism’ and to get to ‘Physical Realism’