The Results of Applied Postmodernism
Another great selection for the book-of-the-week-club by Dr. Jason Clark. Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsey, published in 2020, traces the historical arc of postmodern thought from its beginning, its development, and onto the modern incarnations we see today. This book, like so many others we have read for this program, spends time explaining how we have arrived in the place we find ourselves in today. Winchester’s The Map that Changed the World, Bebbington’s Evangelicalism in Modern Britain, Weber’s, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, McWhorter, Woke Racism, and Trueman’s The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self all have a portion of their books providing a historical framework. This is so important because it gives context and explains the stages that have come before. It shows the broad strokes, the big picture that is so helpful in understanding the present.
The authors are even-handed in this history, in the same vein as Dr. Favale’s historical tracing of the Feminist movement in her book, The Genesis of Gender. Even though Pluckrose and Lindsey are decidedly against the tenants of postmodernism, they explain it expertly, even with all of its nuances. The maturity of the movement we see today, which they call applied postmodernism, occupies the rest of the book. These chapters are the more controversial sections of their book but their arguments are reasoned and tempered. They point out how the ideology has spread out into so many different facets of society: critical race theory, feminism and gender studies, social justice, disabilities, etc. One criticism I can level against the book: I would have liked to see how applied postmodernism has affected the arts and literature. In their description of the origins of postmodernism, they explain how the movement influenced the arts, literature, and architecture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. But there wasn’t a correlating section for applied postmodernism. Instead, they spend time developing how the ideology affects social and political issues.
Although I wouldn’t classify the authors as alarmists, there is a sense of urgency in this book. The authors want to right the wrongs they believe this movement has wrought in modern society. They end their book with declarative, catechism-esque, “We Affirm” and “We Deny” statements. It was an informative and insightful book that helped me better understand what is happening all around our world, socially and politically. Another enlightening read.
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