There has been some interesting stuff floating around about postmodernism. Brian Leiter and Keith DeRose have some interesting comments on the relevance (or lack thereof) of postmodernism in academia. Since I’m constantly making jabs at postmoderns and existentialists I especially enjoyed the articles. DeRose does an especially good job characterizing postmodernism. Instead of associating postmodernism with a specific stance on certain philosophical positions, he characterizes postmodernism by the influences and methodology that gives rise to any position we might consider postmodern. He also points out that, at least in philosophy, postmodernism is not the norm.
Aside from the analysis of postmodernism, he offers some excellent, and often hilarious, comments concerning his “dim view” of postmodernism. From the article:
What’s more, I even admit that it’s a serious possibility in my own mind that there is some philosophy out there that is genuinely postmodern and also genuinely very valuable, even though I do not judge that searching for such material is a good use of my time.
I highly recommend a look at the DeRose article. It is refreshing to get such a full bodied analysis of postmodernism which, I think, captures the general attitudes of analytic minded philosophers and philosophy students.
Postmodernism
There has been some interesting stuff floating around about postmodernism. Brian Leiter and Keith DeRose have some interesting comments on the relevance (or lack thereof) of postmodernism in academia. Since I’m constantly making jabs at postmoderns and existentialists I especially enjoyed the articles.
DeRose does an especially good job characterizing postmodernism. Instead of associating postmodernism with a specific stance on certain philosophical positions, he characterizes postmodernism by the influences and methodology that gives rise to any position we might consider postmodern. He also points out that, at least in philosophy, postmodernism is not the norm.
Aside from the analysis of postmodernism, he offers some excellent, and often hilarious, comments concerning his “dim view” of postmodernism. From the article:
I highly recommend a look at the DeRose article. It is refreshing to get such a full bodied analysis of postmodernism which, I think, captures the general attitudes of analytic minded philosophers and philosophy students.