As stated in previous posts, I don't believe Postmodernism was a philosophy thought up in academia that has filtered down to society over the past few decades. I think this emerging world-view has been discovered/described - not invented. In an effort to show why I think this I tried to show how a paradigm shift in the world of physics was coupled with a paradigm shift in society, and I argued that it was these two grass roots movements that forced the transition from the Medieval Era to the Modern Era. The assumption behind that post was that if new understandings of our universe and societal evolution initiated that migration, isn't it possible that it could happen again. Today, I will list the factors that I think are responsible for moving the world into postmodernism. Then, in symmetry with yesterday I will attempt to describe the postmodern world-view. Then, my final post in this series will list some of the implications that this world-view has on my thinking and the world in general.
Transitioning into Postmodernism
The world of physics - Einstein, Quantum Mechanics, TOE (Theory of Everything)
At the turn of the previous century, most physicists believed we were on the verge of being able to describe with mathematics exactly how the universe worked. We were about to fully tame the universe - become total masters over our environment and surroundings. There were a few paradoxes here and there, but if history was any indication we would work our way through those - it was just a matter of time. Enter Albert Einstein and several Quantum physicists. Here is what we learned from them.
1. Space and Time are not constant. Space gets longer and shorter. Time moves faster and slower. Both change as a result of an object's speed and mass. For example, as on object approaches the speed of light, time slows down. Imagine twins living on earth. They are both 5 years old. One leaves in a rocket that flies close to the speed of light. By his calendar he is gone for 15 years. When he gets back to earth he is 20 years old; however, his twin brother who stayed on earth the entire time is 85 years old. We experience space and time as constant, unchanging because our movements are so slow compared to the speed of light, but that is not all there is to reality. Newtonian physics is not wrong; it is just not completely right. It tells the truth, but not the whole truth.
2. E=mc-squared. Einstein showed us that mass and energy are really the same thing. Up until Einstein we knew about different forms of energy - heat, light, radiation, etc. However, Einstein showed us that mass is energy just as much as heat is. Simply, mass is just another manifestation of energy. This is the equation that drives the entire universe - with just a handful of matter (even less actually), you can release the energy of an atomic bomb.
3. Nothing has humbled us more than quantum physics (the physics of the subatomic world). Just as we thought we were on the verge of having it all figured out; several physicists kept pulling on one the loose strings and the whole thing fell apart. The quantum world is very weird. The common laws of physics (think Modern Era physics - Newton, Galileo, Bacon) break down at the quantum level. We can describe it with equations with unbelievable accuracy, but nobody (and I mean NOBODY) understands it. Here are some things that quantum physics teaches us that go against conventional wisdom:
-Everything in the universe is both particle and wave. If this doesn't boggle your mind, then you don't understand how strange this is.
-It is a world of probabilities not certainties. Nothing is absolute. If you let go of an apple enough times, eventually it will go up instead of down - the chances are VERY small indeed, but as Jim Carrey says in Dumb and Dumber - so, you are telling me there's a chance.
4. Einstein's theories removed some previous paradoxes and destroyed some previous assumptions. Quantum physics did the same. However, Einsteins equations conflicted with quantum physics - on their own they each removed paradoxes but when looked at together they created even more. It did not appear that the two would ever be reconciled. A mathematical equation that described the entire universe did not seem possible - the equations that worked on the big and fast did not work in the subatomic world. However, some theories have surfaced in recent decades that have made some strides in that arena. Most center around string theory. Here are some things to be gleaned from string theory:
-We experience the world in 4 dimensions (3 spatial dimensions and 1 time dimension). String theory suggests that there may be many more dimensions ( at least 9 space dimensions and 1 time dimension, maybe 2!). Whereas Copernicus showed us that the earth is not at the center of the universe, string theory tells us that our experienced universe (4 dimensions) may not even be at the center of reality.
-There is no such thing as matter - baseballs, your brain, a leaf - nothing material really there; it could almost be considered an illusion. Remember the model of the atom we were shown in high school - a bunch of electrons spinning around a nucleus of protons and neutrons. We were told there was nothing smaller than electrons, protons and neutrons. Wrong! There is no fundamental block - it goes down forever - it goes until there is no matter at all only energy (remember E-mc2?). Matter does not exist - our everyday experience tells us otherwise, but there is no such thing as matter - it's all vibrating energy.
Needless to say, in our arrogance we thought we almost had the universe figured out. It is almost laughable now. The reality is that we don't understand anything - we can describe some things, but we don't truly understand how the universe works at all. Newtonian physics works great for our everyday experience - the apple will fall, and fall exactly the same way every time you drop it. However, we have learned that our everyday world is just a tiny piece of reality - reality is much more mysterious and unknown than we had ever though. Very humbling.
What about societal evolution. Can we point to things going on around the world in recent years that might be driving postmodern thinking. Here are few things:
1. Atomic bombs. Man-made viruses both biological and electronic. Global warming. Depletion of our natural resources to threatening levels. Global wars, etc. Our domination of the physical universe through technology has not delivered on the utopia promised by the Modern world-view.
2. The World is Flat. Through advances in communication and transportation (airplanes, the Internet, cell phones, films, TV, etc.), the world is truly becoming one large community. Cultures are intermixing like never before. We are learning that people from other cultures are not the evil people we assumed them to be. They love their children. They are patient, kind, thoughtful, considerate - just like us in many respects.
So, with the paradigm shifts in physics and some societal shifts in thinking due to the failure of technology to produce and the world becoming flat, postmodernism is emerging. With this background, here is my description of postmodernity:
Postmodernity Described.
Just as modernity had to go through several decades/centuries before finally stabilizing, postmodernity has not clearly emerged. There is no true, clear-cut definition of what the post-modern world will look like. Things are still cloudy. However, it can be clearly shown that at this stage in the game that at its core the existing postmodern world-view is a rejection of modernity. As stated in my previous post, modernity claims that absolute truth exists and we not only have access to it, but in fact have a pretty firm grasp on what it is. Postmodern thinking rejects that understanding of reality. This theme will show up in almost every item below:
1. The universe is NOT a machine. Many believe a Theory of Everything is the elusive oasis in the desert. As we unlock some mysteries even more surface.
2. Utopia is not on the horizon. With all of our great knowledge and technological advances we are further away from paradise than we were when the modern era began. Global warming. Biological warfare. The threat of nuclear war. Depletion of our natural resources - basically, living beyond our means. These are just the man-made problems - things we can control. We have learned in recent years about destructive factors that are beyond our control - asteroids colliding with the earth, mega-volcanoes, the shifting of the magnetic poles within the core of the earth, etc. Utopia is not in our future. Knowledge and history has bred realism / pessimism in contrast to the optimism and progress felt by Modern thinkers.
3. All is not knowable. The first iterations of postmodernism claimed that there was no such thing as absolute truth - all truth was relative. This philosophy is what drew out the full arsenal of evangelical warfare. Since that time, most postmodern thinkers (including myself) believe that absolute truth exists, it is just not nor will ever be completely knowable - especially by any one person or culture.
4. Uncertainty. If all is not knowable, then uncertainty is the result. I think a better term is humility. Postmoderns don't believe they have it all figured out; they don't think "I am right. You are wrong". They don't think anybody is completely right nor completely wrong. Everyone has something to contribute. Postmoderns don't live in a black and white world; they live in shades of grey.
5. Truth is objective - people aren't. Postmoderns believe that we are all conditioned observers. We all wear lenses. We all have different windows to reality - some are more cloudy and fuzzy than others, but nobody has a clear window to absolute truth. We all carry biases, prejudices, assumptions that just can not be overcome. Postmoderns believe that no single person can be completely objective.
6. Blending of categories. Things aren't so clearly defined in the postmodern world. Remember the postmodern world is grey, not black and white. For example, look at many of the books and film that come out - the merging with fiction and non-fiction is now an everyday thing. Think of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion - it was supposedly historical - based on the 4 gospels. However, there was a lot of poetic license taken in the film - both with interpretations and in the inclusion of legends passed down through time. The worlds of fiction and non-fiction have emerged - the same is true for many of the previously existing categories that modern society created. Postmodernity is more fuzzy than modernity; more messy.
7. Inclusive. Postmodern thinkers admit that they are wearing colored lenses; so, they know that their thinking is off and misplaced in some form or fashion; therefore they are hesitant to draw boundary lines. In fact, they seek diversity thinking they can learn from everyone - seeking to truly understand how others (especially those different from them) view reality. They want to try their best to see reality through as many lenses as possible in hopes of forming a more accurate view of absolute truth.
8. Shift in truth authority. Modern thinkers put ultimate faith in the bible. All other sources of truth are put through a bible filter. The bible trumps all. Postmodern thinkers don't have an ultimate truth authority. Instead of one foundational truth authority upon which other sources of truth rest, postmodern thinkers use a web of truth with several anchor points. Postmodern thinkers try to locate truth by having multiple sources of truth interact with each other. Confidence in the interpretation of truth grows as more sources of truth agree with each other. Where there seem to be paradoxes and conflicts with truth authorities, the postmodern thinker has less confidence in his interpretation of either source on that matter and then seeks to figure out a way to reconcile the two. For example, the creation story in the bible says that all things were created in 6 days. Fossils and our theories regarding the origins of the universe (the Big Bang) say it took much longer. Conflict. Instead of saying that the scientific community is deceived or that God created the universe to look old, postmodern thinkers reconcile the two by deciding that "day" may refer to "era" - like "day of the dinosaurs". Thus, the universe was not created in 6 literal 24 hour time periods, but in 6 major eras.
10. Customization and Nonconformity. Postmodern thinkers accept the fact that we all view reality through colored lenses. Since we all view reality differently, then our path to finding absolute truth will be different for everyone. All paths are not equal, but in one way or another, all paths will be different. Instead of programs and formulas, the path to discovering absolute truth becomes more relational, interactive, and mysterious.
To my layman level of understanding, here is how I can best summarize the fundamental differences between the Modern and Postmodern World-view.
Modern: Absolute truth exists. We have access to it and in fact have a pretty firm grasp on it.
Postmodern: Absolute truth exits. We do not have a firm grasp on it. We all see reality through colored lenses; therefore we only grow in our grasp of absolute truth as we learn to see reality through the lenses of other individuals and cultures.
I have tried to describe postmodernity and how it contrasts with modernity. The final two posts will be personal. I will first try to pro-actively respond to some bad assumptions that Evangelicals make when I begin sharing my thoughts with them. I will then attempt to list some observations, theories, thoughts and questions in regard to how postmodernism has affected my thinking and how it manifests itself in my world.
