The Postmodern era is the latest chapter of human history, demarking a fundamental shift away from the modernist mindset and philosophy on nearly every measurable front of American culture. Those "cultural fronts" include thought, art, society, and religion.
In order to fully grasp the meaning of "postmodernism" (i.e. a postmodern ideology), it is imperative for one to first understand its predecessor, modernism.
More specifically, the assumptions of the modern era are the best place to make a succinct differentiation between it and postmodernism.
Modernism is associated with the belief in linear progress, absolute truth[s], a rational approach to the structuring of social orders, and the standardization of knowledge and production. (Veith 42) Its major components include rationalism (knowledge through mathematical/logical reason), empiricism (knowledge through systematic implementation of the scientific method), skepticism (substantiation of truth only through rationalism and empiricism), existentialism (a belief that personal experience defines an individual's reality, superceding absolutes and values like "right" and "wrong"), and materialism (the belief in a purely physical universe).
All philosophical views advocated in modernism require the presence of absolutes. Without that fundament, there can be no epistemology (the process of learning and knowing) since everything is subjective, relative and biased. Nor can a consensus be reached regarding the composition of the universe (since there would be no basis for agreement on even fundamental issues such as the existence of matter).
Thus, modernism can be summed up as the subscription to rational and empirical epistemology (seasoned with skepticism), along with a materialistic view of metaphysics (the makeup of the universe).
Whereas modernism assumed that absolutes (and therefore, truth) existed, postmodernism holds to a completely opposite assumption; "there is no absolute truth, nor any meaning in the universe" (Notes 2).
Unlike previous ideologies that have risen throughout history, postmodernism has an agenda. It's sort of like the hybrid philosophy of the 21st century. The problem is, its agenda is self-deprecating.
A postmodernist's motive is to "expose the truth that there is no truth." This is quite the paradox. And although some might be fooled into thinking that it is possible to accomplish that objective, the law of non-contradiction affects a total mooting of this position. To establish that there is no truth, a proof must be establish in order to justify the statement; however, no proof could validate that statement while not invalidating its own existence.
The point is, postmodernism is the credence that no objective truth exists, no absolutes exist, that all claims to the above are social constructs erected to mask the "real" struggle over power and pleasure (the Freudian motivators of man), and that moral values are relative. With that understanding of postmodernism, an analysis can now be made of how that philosophy has affected America's thought, art, society and religion.
Postmodernism has reshaped the way that Americans think and process information. Instead of assuming that there is only one true conclusion to be reached, one might seek a solution that feels good to them. Thus, rationalism is abandoned for relativism and existentialism, where the individual construes his own truth or reality. In addition, postmodernism is demolishing a sense of purpose, by replacing humanism and positivism with nihilism.
As stated earlier, the overarching trend in postmodernism is a shift away from everything that the modern era fostered. Will replaces intellect; emotion replaces reason; relativism replaces morality, and reality transmogrifies into a social construct. (Veith 29)
Intellect was one of the primary foci of the modern era, reaching the height of it's exoneration during the Age of Enlightenment. "Man's reasoning was exalted above divine revelation in the pursuit of knowledge" (Gross '00). But in the postmodern realm, an individual's "will" has come to replace his intellect. A prime example of this is the "New Math" emerging in more and more public schools. Instead of subscribing to the absolutes and static concepts that have undergirded mathematics for the past 1200 years (Euclidian math) like addition, multiplication and exponentiation, a scary new vein of "learning" is sprouting.
"Children understand and learn only those concepts that they 'construct', or discover on their own. The teacher is discouraged from providing information or imparting knowledge, and is instead encouraged to act as a 'facilitator of learning'" (Vukmir 1).
This concept of construction completely flies in the face of every world-culture's past approach to epistemology, which has been built upon previous foundations and absolutes. Without that foundation, a perilous road lies ahead for the young students of today:
"[This] is even found in high school algebra classes: Children are expected to discover or 'reconstruct' the ancient rules of mathematics using the objects with the guidance of peers equally in the dark" (Vukmir 1).
Just as will replaces intellect, emotion replaces reason. As with intellect, reason reached its height of exultation during the Enlightenment. Exulted above divine revelation as the source of truth, it nurtured a very secular worldview in many men of that era. In postmodern times however, reason has been pushed down into the cellar, and emotion has risen in its place.
The purpose of reason in modernism was to discover order and unity in the universe (which was assumed to exist), and to piece elements of truth together into meaningful laws and theorems. But "Postmodernism swims, even wallows, in the fragmentary and the chaotic currents of change as if that is all there is" (Veith 73).
Aside from the dynamics of epistemology, throughout the transition between modernism and its successor, an ethical transformation has taken place as well. Instead of holding to certain doctrines as the source of absolute moral truth, for which the Bible provided a firm foundation during much of the modern era, the postmodernist has nothing to turn to for a moral code or ethical outline. The natural result of this is an abandonment of ethics altogether. In fact, postmodernists take it a step further, by calling ethics a social construct used to oppress and manipulate people. The paradox (and in fact, oxymoron) of morality being "evil" is rising in popularity.
Finally, a huge component and effect of postmodernism upon thought has been to "deconstruct" both language and reality. According to postmodernists, deconstruction is the belief that "all meaning is socially constructed", and the analytical method by which those social constructs are deciphered. All language[s] and assertions of truth, they say, are camouflage masking the real issue, which is a struggle for power and pleasure. Apparently, this is a more honest view of reality for postmodernists, which makes sense since they embrace nihilism (everything amounts to nothing; there is no purpose), and antinomianism (the rejection of social and biblical morality).
For instance, in the Declaration of Independence, it states that "all men are created equal; they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights" which include livelihood, liberty, and happiness. In deconstructing this passage, one could say that it speaks of equality, and yet it uses the term "men", which would seemingly imply an absence of equality for women. And although it speaks about a right to liberty, its author, Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves himself. Thus, the asserted meaning evaporates in the heat of postmodern deconstruction, leaving only a "power play" that runs completely contrary to its surface meaning.
The second aspect of Western culture that postmodernism has influenced is art, which is complemented by the reformation of thought already described. As thoughts become disjointed, lacking reason or absolutes to organize them, so also artistry and design lose elements of humanness, exclusivity and unity. "Postmodern art vividly demonstrates the consequences of postmodern thinking" (Veith 93).
Artwork has undergone a dynamic shift during the past century. Up until the last century, artwork was composed with the assumption that the artist's intent was what most shaped the piece's meaning, and this was effected through the artist's creativity. However, in the postmodern era, there can be no meaning greater than the primal struggle for power and pleasure that underlies all assertions of meaning, nor any creativity above those base motivators.
Sherrie Levine is an example of how detraction from humanness and artistic creativity can lead to nothing, essentially. She takes pictures of renowned photographs and presents them as her own work. There is obviously no sense of individuality or creativity beyond the scope of "framing the shot". This "artwork" tears the humanity out of art, and replaces it with a cold and artificial personality.
Now that the human aspect has been abandoned by the artist, some of them are taking it a step further, in what has been called "performance art".
In this new genre, a piece consists of the props and participant[s] in it, as well as the viewer's response. This response may come in the form of anger, repulsion, or confusion. However, no matter what is felt, it becomes assimilated into that piece of art.
Joseph Beuys is considered to be a pioneer of this form of art. He has one "ritual", Fat Corner, where the performance involves watching a piece of fat melt and rot over a few days. His art hinges upon the response of the viewer, and was contrived simply to elicit a reaction, no matter what kind.
Beuys also invented "throw-away art", in which he essentially signs hackneyed objects such as pieces of paper. By producing these commonalities in mass, he rebels against the traditional "objets d'art" value system, by creating cheap and completely banal artwork. When it came down to it, all Beuys did was sign something that he probably didn't even make. By doing this, he deconstructed the artist, asserting him to be simply a dull power-monger, echoing a Marxist view of property ownership.
Andy Warhol, the manager and founder of "The Factory", provides a principal example of the assault on humanness in postmodern art. This "Factory" is a place where Warhol and his workers mass-produce prints of famous icons like Marilyn Monroe. According to Andy, reproducing art to such a magnitude liberates it from the wealthy and their institutions, thus opening up "the artistic process" to the proletariat.
The primary goal of postmodern art is not to appeal to the aesthetic, but rather to embody some political agenda or message. Instead of communicating injustice or some moral issue, the issues are reduced (or deconstructed) into "questions of power and oppression" (Veith 107). "Postmodernists tend on principle to rebel against authority" (Veith 108). This includes "objective authorities," like God.
Andres Serrano is one of the more blatant purveyors towards authority of this aggression. He submerged a crucifix into his own urine, simply to incite public rage and outcry, which definitely followed.
One positive effect postmodernism has had on art is in architecture. While the modern era produced "impressive" and "efficient" buildings, the facet of personality was lost, or abandoned for their thesis that "form follows function". But in the postmodern rebellion against modernism, there has been a return to classical and romantic styles of building. Now the excessive and impractical is embraced. The transition between these different movements is best embodied in the destruction of the Pruitt-Igoe project of St. Louis in 1972, which supposedly marked the end of modernist architecture.
Las Vegas is one big example of how structures are becoming more and more referential again (i.e. indicating their purpose and theme by design). Big flashy signs indicate what's happening on the inside, or what activities you might expect to find there. Thus purpose and intent are meshed with design, creating intentional results, an aspect which many other areas of postmodernism sorely lack.
The AT&T building (in NY) embraced the deconstructive side of postmodernism, yielding a baroque-style entryway, while at the same time capped with a classical pediment that has a hole in it. "The result is a hybrid of modernistic high-rise and grandfather clockit pilfers various historical styles and works them into a pastiche void of coherence and meaning" (Veith 115). In other words, when postmodern architecture takes a deconstructive turn, the result is a collage of disjointed historical epochs.
The final area of postmodernism's influence on art is in multimedia. In short, the overarching trend is to create or reshape realities for other people, and in a sense, control them.
There are many examples of this, including NBC's investigative report on GM trucks, in which they installed igniters so they would explode for the documentary. "They staged the very safety problems they claimed to be exposing" (Veith 123).
In John Barth's "Life story", he writes about himself writing, and about the dilemmas of the writer in general. At one point, he speaks directly to the reader, setting himself up as a character "utterly dependent" on their continued reading. Barth goes through several twists and turns in his view, constantly deconstructing his own work! Barth makes God, the author, out to be God, the reader. This is an unsurprising instance of the postmodern "dictum" that the meaning of an artwork is created by its audience, making it subjective and relative. (Veith 129)
Art has thus become a medium for shaping (and being shaped by) the audience, commanding the reality of an individual, portraying political opinions, and conveying a pastiche of history and verisimilitude.
The third area of American culture impacted by postmodernism is society. The most prevalent trends in this area are towards segmentation, multiculturalism, moral majority, and collective activity (both in education and in the global community).
Segmentation is essentially the splintering of society into "hundreds of subcultures and designer cults; each with its own language, code, and life-style" (Veith 144). This segmentation has sprouted up in many forms. For instance, television has undergone a shift from Network to Cable. As more and more people formed interest groups, the cable corporations responded by catering to as many of the groups as was practical and lucrative. Also, people's identities are no longer shaped by paternal or familial influences as much as by the groups of which they are a part. For instance, a computer hacker becomes enmeshed in the subculture via the internet, and he tailors himself (and is tailored) to that group of individuals.
The civil rights movement was initially very beneficial and altruistic in its purpose; to give rights to those who had no voice. However, the movement itself has faded, and a dozen splinter groups have stepped into the limelight. First feminists, then homosexuals, Aids victims, and Vietnam vets arose, demanding a redress of their grievances, and equalization of their benefits and rights.
Tribalism has been caused by the postmodernist's denial that all humans share in a similar state of existence (humanity itself). This dissent has led to disunity among cultural groups, and is a major barrier in achieving unity, except in the eyes of the postmodernists, who perpetuate the ideology of mutual incompatibility. They hold that humans are unable to share commonalities because of the "prison house of language", which makes different cultures inaccessible to each other.
Multiculturalism is the dismantling of the concept that American culture is unitary, in an attempt to establish a diverse state. (Veith 149) Instead of indoctrinating immigrants to US culture (as was originally standard procedure), there is now a sense (and promotion) or "cultural awareness", where Americans must come to understand and tolerate the customs and cultures of people who emigrate here. Thus e pluribus unum (out of many, one) becomes ex uno plures (out of one, many).
The civil rights movement shifted from stressing unity (Martin Luther King Jr.) to stressing disunity and segregation (Malcolm X). Along with that, the study of American history (in American institutions) has shied away from "mythology" of America, and has instead turned to the darker side of its history (slavery, unjust wars, "robber barons"), and emphasizing the contribution of blacks, women, and ethnic groups.
In the postmodern era, an absolute moral code cannot exist due to the lack of credence in absolutes. This leaves people to define their morality based on the majority's opinion within a democratic system. "Tyranny comes not only from dictators; there can also be a tyranny 'of the majority'" (Veith 166). When the majority decides, and there is no absolute code to check them, every sort of evil can be perpetrated. The bible speaks of exactly this scenario:
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is on them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. (Eph. 4:18f)
A new mentality complements this concept of the moral majority quite nicely. Postmodern mentality essentially does away with the law of non-contradictions (if A = 0, A 1). The individual is encouraged to think and believe whatever he likes. Neither rational nor empirical thinking is required anymore. That being the case, statements such as "That may be true for you, but it isn't true for me" become quite prevalent.
Businesses are also impacted by the new trend of postmodernism. In the spirit of decentralizing power (so as to prevent a small ruling body from abusing it), they empower their employees to make group decisions concerning what is best for the company.
Also, a new niche in the market has arisen as a result of postmodern social influence: the "service industries". The heart and sole of these industries is the "information service", which sells information to its clients. However, they don't sell knowledge (which is a "substantial and tangible quantity); they only sell information, which is volatile, ever changing, and fleeting. (Veith 178)
Education has been effected as well, sprouting new programs like "collaborative learning". Essentially, groups of children are now made to seek their own truth in small groups. This is precisely what the New Math was a part of (described earlier). Previously, education was linear, deductive and sequential; but it is now practical, experimental, interactive and customized. To help stimulate this change in the format of teaching, language is being replaced by images, which are more nurturing in a group environment, preventing any hint of previously construed meaning from creeping into the classroom.
Lastly, society has been somewhat globalized, not as far as culture is concerned, of course, since every culture is mutually incompatible. Rather, communication (the internet), trade, and commercialization (McDonalds) are uniting the world under the banner of free-market, and the common availability of goods. Thus, society has become segmented culturally, and yet unified globally.
The fourth and final area of culture that postmodernism has affected is religion.
Postmodernism has begotten a shift from rational to irrational thinking. Truth and morality have given way to desire, a new form of Christian apologetics and evangelism has emerged, and the Church is entering an epoch which could be the best or the worst thing for it.
As has already been touched upon, people are thinking irrationally, contrary to the enlightenment era. This irrationality is breeding a mentality that says, "I'll believe in what I like. I'll believe in what I want to believe". For example, a person might think, "I don't like hell." Now, that in itself is a healthy belief, since hell is something to be feared. However, a postmodernist would take it the next step and conclude that since they don't like hell, it doesn't exist. "Many people are unwilling to believe what they do not enjoy" (Veith 194).
In this postmodern era, new religions are being created. This runs contrary to the modernist tendency to eliminate religions. The postmodern religions "do not require evidence or plausibility," which mirrors their mentality of the subjectivity of truth, based on its appeal. Thus "truth becomes desire."
Along with this transformation comes another; "morality becomes desire". Obviously, there is a theme of turning things to individual desires instead of absolutes. In an age where morality is dictated by preference, "tolerance becomes the cardinal virtue" (Veith 195).
The rejection of objective truth lends itself well to such New Age (existentialist and nihilist) religions as Hinduism and Buddhism. Their credence is that the external world is simply an illusion contrived by the individual. And also, that the "self" is divine: "You are God, the creator of your own universe."
Yet in this epoch of relativism, hedonism, nihilism and existentialism, a new breed of Christian evangelism has been borne. Christians, in response to the oppressive culture, have united to form their own subculture (churches, schools, bookstores, resources, etc), having been "excommunicated from the culture at large" (Veith 120).
The Christian institutions that have already been established shall provide a base from which to launch missions into the culture, and influence it at all levels. However, there is a constant danger of becoming indoctrinated by their secular counterparts for these institutions that Christians have worked so hard to establish.
As far as apologetics and witnessing go, Christians must be equipped to respond to a generation that does not think in systematic terms. (Veith 211) The new catch phrase is "Make a decision for Christ", which is precisely the kind of device needed to penetrate the postmodernist's mind, since he think primarily in terms of deciding what's best for himself.
Running in opposition to this orthodox evangelical effort is "Megashift theology", whose main function is to make Christianity more appealing by softening its edges. However, in making it more palpable, advocators of this theology actually warp and misrepresent true Christian faith and values, by trivializing certain sins or practices for the sake of "not turning people away" who might be offended by them. But this is not what Christians are commanded to do. "According to Scripture the universal issue is not 'How happy can I be?' but 'How can I be saved?'" (Veith 216).
In this postmodern age, the main goal is to build without foundations. Thus, postmodernism is "anti-foundational". Yet, Christians do have a definite way to use postmodernism to their advantage. "Role models, mentors, and friends shape people's thinking more than objective reasoning" (Veith 226). For example, a young man who believes in both the Bible and reincarnation might be brought back to the faith via a Bible study that focuses on life and death.
Another benefit of postmodernism to Christians is that postmodernists are open to the past. Churches can stretch themselves a little bit to communicate with and appeal to contemporary society. However, in catering to a certain degree to this present age, doctrine and faith must not be compromised, as would be easy to do, especially if one was seeking to have a "mega-church". Compromising the creed would lead to subjectivity and spiritual hedonism. True church growth will come through revival and reformation. "The most vital theological movements in church history have been those which went against the trends of their time!" (Veith 230).
Postmodernism has had a profound impact on American culture in thought, art, society, and religion. In the end, Christianity shall persevere no matter how much oppression or liberty is borne in this new chapter of history.
Posted April 19, 2002