Postmodernism and philosophy

Pstmodernism

1. Postmodernism and philosophy stuart sim

2. PRESENTED BY JINSU SUSAN ABRAHAM I MA ENGLISH St.MARY’S COLLEGE, M ANARCADU

3. A literary critic,social critic and critical theorist Currently, a professor of English Literature at Northumbria University Known for his researches on globalization, postmodernism,poststructurlism,postmarxism,continental philosophy,cultural theory and critical theory. Written numerous journel articles and book chapters and his work has been translated into 17 languages. STUART SIM

4. This essay appears as the first essay to the book entitled The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism. Sim considers the book The Postmodern Condition by Jean Francois Lyotard as the most important and powerful theoritical expression of postmodernism. A ccording to Lyotard , postmodernity is a shift of mood or persception brought about by the changes in the organization of knowledge since late 19 th century. Postmodernism and philosophy

5. A traditional importance of labour declined in a pst industrial society A post industrial society is heavily depended on production of knowledge than physical commodities In this senerio knowledge itself became a commodity to be sold and bought The prestige of traditional intellectuals fades and the world becomes increasingly incredules about the grand narratives.

6. Base form of postmodernism is highly indepted to Nietzche who proposed ‘revaluation of alla values’.

7. Structuralism is considered as an authoritarian theory since the theory prescribe how system had to operate. By the late 1960’s a radical reaction emerge. Jacques Derrida and other poststructuralist launched a series of devasting criticism against structuralism Derrida proved that the conventional link between signifier and signified and signified is fragile and slippery, thus meaning is more elusive than structuralist . STRUCTURALISM AND POSTSTRUCTURALISM

8. Derrida proved this slippage in action by means of a concept called ‘ differance ’. Metaphysics of presence is a term coined by Derrida. Thought that full meaning of a word is present in the speakers mind. According to derrida , difference always stand as an impediment in stablishing a complete meaning.

9. Postmodern philosopher who quetioned the system building tendencies of structuralism He focused on how system building happens in politics by the use of power. The excluded or marginalised groups,whose difference keeps them excluded from political poewer -people. Foucault studied how this marginalization developed in post Renaissance culture. MICHAEL FOUCAULT AS A POSTMODERN PHILOSOPHY

10. History of Sexuality by Foucault ,is a study of how homosexuality function in Greek and Roman culture and later in postrenaissance and contemporary culture.

11. Postmodern philosophers considers psychoanalytical thoery as authoritarian and set to control the expressions of human desire. Anti Oedipus, by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari , is a strong attack on the authoritarinism associated with psychoanalyist . Psychoanalysis heavily depended upon Oedipal structure that reduced everything to “ pappa , mamma and me” For Deleuze and Guattari , individuals can’t be branded under any psychoanalytical theories. PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY AND POST MEDERNISM

12. According to them they are desiring machine. Individual lacks any unified identity and the opportunity to realise their desire desire is being curved by socio-political authorities.

13. The rigidity of gender categorization was questioned by Difference Feminism. The key argument of Difference Feminism is that gender identity isn’t fixed instead it is flexible and fluid flows that can’t be reduced into anyessence or norm of behaviour . According to Difference Feminism a singular identity is not possible with woman as, women has overlapping shades of experiences and identity – such differences as race, class, religion and ethinicity . FEMINISM AND POSTMODERNISM

14. Lyotard was a marxist in his earlier career: a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie (Socialism or Barbarianism) Lyotard distance himself from the organization on the ground the marxism failed to encompase the various desires of the people. Another reason for disenchantment was the proestablishment stand of French communist party after 1968 Paris Evenments . MARXISM AND LYORTARD

15. He expressed his frustration towards marxism in his work Libidinal Economy. EVENT,DIFFEREND AND SUBLIME EVENT :According to Lyotard event is any incident that can dramitically alter the view for the way in which view the world. Auschwitz is such an event.Such events can’t be explained by any grand narrative theories. DIFFEREND ( irrisolvable dispute) : To Lyotard differend is a dispute that arises when each party is employing a form of language.

16. Differands are normally suppressed by means of brute power. Lyotard wants these differands to be acknowledge and not taken advantage by the stronger unity. SUBLIME : It is unpresentable the elements in our experience which works against the complete understanding of the world. The sublime always lay beyond our power to represent or explain.

17. Grand narratives may acknowledge or refute the sublime but phase to provide an explanation of these.

18. Science as a threat to difference Acoording to Lyotard , science is trying to make ‘thought possible without a body’. Such scientific values should be resist because it aims at a world without difference. In such a world there will no longer be ‘events.’ One need to work against such ‘techno- science’world , where individuals and littile narratives are letout or will be silenced under the authority. SCIENCE AND POSTMODERNISM