What is Postmodernism?
In this post, Postmodernism mainly refers to the belief that all truth is relative. It is, in essence, a 'live and let live' philosophy - at least, one of the forms of it.
Unfortunately, this philosophy is not very well built at all, and I hope to show you why.
Postmodernists say "What's true for you is true for you. You have your truth, and I have mine. It's all good." They deny that there is only one true worldview or only one way to interpret facts.
The problem is, this cannot work. First of all, if this is true, then postmodernists cannot do science, education, religion, anything. They shouldn't be agreeing on anything. Why is there a set education system if truth, fact, is relative? Why do we teach that one plus one equals two - isn't that forcing our truth on other people? Why do laws exist?
Perhaps the postmodernist answers "That's because these truths are true for a lot of people. They're true for me, too."
How very convenient. But what if a leading scientist decides that the truth of one plus one isn't for him? Are you going to accept his scientific observations as true? What if a world leader rises up and declares that genocide is good in his truth? Why should you object? Because it's not in yours? If you use the 'what's true for you isn't true for me. Live and let live' philosophy only when it suits you to get out of arguments you don't like, or situations you find uncomfortable, then it shows you don't practice what you preach.
Second, postmodernism slices its own throat by declaring that 'truth is relative'. Truth, by definition, is a set value. In logic, a statement of fact must either be true or false. If I say 'the moon is blue', and you say 'no, the moon is white', then one of our statements is true, and the other is false. Postmodernism tries to ignore this and say that it's okay, you can believe what you want. If you think the moon is blue, then it's true. If I think the moon is white, that's true too. But statements that directly contradict each other cannot both be true.
Third, Postmodernism may say that 'truth is relative', but it doesn't practice what it preaches. In fact, it cannot. Postmodernism cannot be true if what's true for you isn't true for me. I don't think Postmodernism is true. But it has to be either true or false, as we've just discussed. If you say Postmodernism is true, then I can come right back and say no, it isn't - and according to Postmodernism, I'm also speaking the truth. Therefore, Postmodernism is self-contradicting. It tries to use the rules of logic to assert itself, but in the process it sticks a sword through its gut.
Now, let's step back a little and take in the base philosophy behind Postmodernism - 'Live and Let Live'. This philosophy takes on many similar forms besides Postmodernism:
"Why force your beliefs on other people? All religions are essentially the same. They all believe in the same god, and we're all going to end up in the same place."
"I don't believe in anything. You have your views, that's fine. You do your thing, I'll do mine."
And there's more. But just like Postmodernism, Live and Let Live causes its own death, and here's why.
Let's deal with the two specific statements I just gave. First of all, all religions are not essentially the same. There are vast differences between them. A person who says they are the same has not done enough research, or is generalizing in a huge way. To show just how general the statement is, here's a similar (and perhaps even more general) one: "All worldviews are the same, because they all hold something to be true."
Second, you cannot believe in nothing. By saying 'I don't believe in anything', you are making a statement of belief. You believe that there is nothing to believe in. Also, by saying 'you do your thing, I'll do mine', you are telling me what to do. You just violated your own stance. You not only believe in something, not nothing, you also believe that people should leave each other alone and believe what they want. But by telling people what they should do, you aren't leaving them alone, nor letting them believe what they want. You're telling them how to live and what to believe. The stance defeats itself.
Hopefully by now you've seen that this philosophy of 'Live and Let Live' just can't, well, live. It kills itself each time it makes an appearance. If a person still clings to such a philosophy after that philosophy being so blatantly exposed and defrauded, then they are deceiving themselves and there is nothing to be done to help them, beyond praying for their soul.
If you find this confusing to comprehend, don't worry. You may have to read it a few times - circular reasoning makes my head spin, too.
I hope you found this helpful, and until next time:
Ta and good luck.
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