Reflecting on Postmodernism
Postmodernism has been a term used by many writers, but one has the suspicion that people mean differing ideas and ways of life when referring to it. Some writers and speakers will give the impression that we live in a postmodern culture, as if postmodernism is a dominant theme throughout the culture. If this were accurate, it would be an irony that an intellectual movement that casts suspicion on the notion of a theme in history, in the formation of the self, or in the interpretation of a text, would suddenly become a theme of contemporary culture. My assumption is that postmodernism describes an important subculture within a larger intellectual and cultural environment. As a product of human activity, it will have valid insights that illuminate human experience. It will also have dimensions of its thought and way of life that are of questionable value. A postmodern perspective is one among several live options that one might choose as a way of thinking and behaving in thi...