An argument against Post-modern philosophy
“The only absolute truth is that there is no absolute truth.” - Feyerabend
Recently in the Adoration conference, Jason Harris touched on Post modernism; its ideology, its logic and flaws. Postmodernism is a term originating in art, literature, philosophy, historiography, theology, architecture, and culture in general. Postmodern philosophy is skeptical of many of the values and bases of analytic philosophy; for instance a postmodernist might disavow that the complex system of meanings embodied in normal or philosophical language could be represented in logical annotation. (some might even disavow any traditional notion of 'meaning' altogether). [Courtesy of Wikipedia]
Here's a good summary of post-modern philosophy:
Postmodernism is a general and wide-ranging term which is applied to literature, art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality.
For this reason, postmodernism is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding, interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through our interpretations of what the world means to us individually. Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles, knowing always that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal.
Postmodernism is "post" because it is denies the existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody - a characteristic of the so-called "modern" mind.
In essence, current postmodern belief is that a correct description of Reality is impossible. This extreme skepticism assumes that, a) All truth is limited, approximate, and is constantly evolving b) No theory can ever be proved true (we can only show that a theory is false) c) No theory can ever explain all things d) Thus absolute and certain truth that explains all things is unobtainable.
Effectively, post modern belief comes to the conclusion that: We CAN imagine things that DO NOT exist (eg fairies, dragons) We CANNOT imagine things that DO exist (eg the reality of human existence in universe) The post modern understanding that our language is too imprecise, out senses too limited and deceptive to ever absolutely describe Reality has been caused by the failure of philosophers and physicist to accurately describe Reality in the past centuries.
Post modernism is arguably the most depressing philosophy ever to spring from the Western mind. It is difficult to talk about post-modernism because nobody really understands it. It's allusive to the point of being impossible to articulate. But what this philosophy basically says is that we've reached an end point in humanity. That the modernist tradition of progress and ceaseless extension of the frontiers of innovation are now dead. Originality is dead. The avant-garde artistic tradition is dead. All religions and utopian visions are dead and resistance to the status quo is impossible because revolution too is now dead. Like it or not, we humans are stuck in a permanent crisis of meaning, a dark room from which we can never escape. - Kalle Lasn & Bruce Grierson, A Malignant Sadness
Not only is post modernism hard to define, it is also in itself a paradox and self-contradicts from the foundation of its ideology. For example, the Feyerabend quote above, “The only absolute truth is that there is no absolute truth”, is a contradiction. If you assume that there is no absolute truth, then the absolute truth you assert in this phrase is not an absolute truth. Many ancient philosophers understood this and argued against this principle effectively.
If anyone thinks nothing is to be known, he does not even know whether that can be known, as he says he knows nothing. - Lucretius
Finally, if nothing can be truly asserted, even the following claim would be false, the claim that there is no true assertion. - Aristotle
The paradox of the postmodern position is that, in placing all principles under the scrutiny of its skepticism, it must realize that even its own principles are not beyond questioning. As the philosopher Richard Tarnas states, postmodernism "cannot on its own principles ultimately justify itself any more than can the various metaphysical overviews against which the postmodern mind has defined itself." Therefore, due to its inherent uncertainty, post-modernism cannot argue against true knowledge of reality. So postmodernism cannot say we whether we can or cannot know reality/absolute truths, as it has no foundation to deduce absolute truths from. Thus the Feyerabend quote from above is not true. Are there absolute truths in the world that transcend culture, time and space? When we consider our experience of existence in space, then we find that it is common across all cultures. This is universally true for all humans – we all experience existing in the same space. Thus space is both a concrete experience and an abstract principle. When we stop the flow of blood and oxygen to our brain, we are brain dead within ten minutes. When we point a gun at our temples and pull the trigger (assuming there are bullets), we die (without question, right?) Hence, post-modernism cannot question the credibility of the state of being 'dead'. Being dead is an absolute phenomenon universally experienced by humans; transcending culture. Thus death is both a concrete experience and an abstract principle. Ok, for less sadistic examples. Every human, whether living in Brazilian rainforests or urban metropolises, all share the knowledge of good and evil. The extent and degree of morality, is, of course, affected strongly by culture and sociology. Yet in the recesses of every human's soul lies a conscience; a prickling, guilty stimulus to remind us when we've done wrong. Even the headhunters in New Guinea know it is wrong to murder. The conscience and the state of feeling guilt is universally experienced by all humans. Therefore, the conscience is both a concrete experience and an abstract principle.
Finally, we come to our faith. Faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. Post modernism states that all is relative, nothing is absolutely true. Yet the Bible states that every word of God is [the absolute] truth (and God Himself is the Word. -John 1:1) The word 'truth' is mentioned 228 times in the Bible, therefore it may be assumed that God puts emphasis on 'the truth'? Especially in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus begins his teaching with “I tell you the truth...” 30 times. How can He be so confident; so asseverating, if post modern philosophy was 'the truth'? (As already discussed, due to its inherent uncertainty and contradiction, post modernism cannot be the gauge to measure other philosophies by.)
In conclusion, absolutes and certainties do exist in the world. The murkiness and abstract, unpractical assumptions of post-modernism can never be one's belief, because it leaves one without absolute foundations for determining absolute truths about how we should think and live wisely on this earth. Alternative pathways are open-minded skepticism and scientific reasoning, yet our senses and perception of the world around us is limited and corrupt, and therefore cannot serve to be our standard and absolute truths. The only absolute truth we can rely on is the Bible; the Word of God, for that was ordained by God and God Himself is the absolute merciful, the absolute holy, the absolute love, the absolute impartial and infallible Judge....
And the ABSOLUTE TRUTH.
| 
