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  • Essay / Why postmodernism appeals to contemporary audiences

    Postmodernism can be broadly defined as a late 20th century philosophy that rejects Western philosophies adopted by society primarily during the Enlightenment (18th century). Therefore, while modernism preaches the existence of reality, absolute truth, individuality, objectivity and the free market; postmodernism preaches relativism, collectivism, and the belief that human nature is a social construct that can be deconstructed and reorganized because it is subjective in nature. This allows people to lazily avoid the harshness of reality while continuing to live in their comfortable bubbles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In the words of Michel Foucault, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century commonly associated with his work on structuralism, “It makes no sense to speak in the name of – or against – reason, of truth or knowledge. However, if there are no absolute truths or objective knowledge, then postmodernism immediately contradicts itself at the fundamental level on which it stands, because the statement "there are no absolute truths or knowledge objective” is in itself a statement of absolute truth. , many 20th century social thinkers such as Irving Howe (Mass Society and Post-Modern Fiction, 1959), CR Mills (The Sociological Imagination, 1959), Leslie Fiedler (The New Mutants, 1965), and Jurgen Habermas (Modernity versus Postmodernity , 1981), have continually described the dawn of postmodernism as the beginning of a dark age where the principles of the Enlightenment fall and because of which a nihilistic society eventually rises. The reason postmodernism appeals to many, especially the younger generation, is because it removes objectivity and places feelings above logic and reason. All feelings, no matter how ridiculous, should be respected and taken seriously. As a result, a toxic atmosphere of relativism is created, which diminishes the need to distinguish between good and evil; and the moral and the immoral. For example, saying “all cultures and all humans do not deserve to be respected” or “there is no “your truth” or “my truth”, there is only one truth” calls you a sexist, racist and Islamophobic intellectual. The reason the appalling idea of ​​giving someone's feelings more importance than rationality seems appealing to many is because it's the easiest way to end conversations. Since no one can be wrong and everyone's ideas and opinions must be given equal importance and respect, discussions and debates can always end with people saying things like "I don't agree with you but I Also don't judge yourself because I respect and value your opinion. This way there are no winners or losers, no one gets hurt, people don't need to use their brains to think, and we all live in a constant state of lazy utopia, of ignorance and narrowed minds as our society grows. stagnates and our policies continually fail. Postmodernism constantly rejects meta-narratives and also poses a great threat to morality. Morality and absolute truths are not mutually exclusive and therefore, while ignoring the belief in meta-narratives, it indicates that morality is a fluid and subjective concept. On the contrary, it promotes moral relativism which contributes to the increase in sociological deviance by destroying moral boundaries. Indeed, the vague framework of postmodernism is articulated.