{"id":25741,"date":"2020-02-06T09:58:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T17:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=25741"},"modified":"2020-02-06T09:58:17","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T17:58:17","slug":"postmodernism-maybe-its-not-so-bad-after-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/postmodernism-maybe-its-not-so-bad-after-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Postmodernism, Maybe It’s Not So Bad After All."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The general agreement suggests that we live in a postmodern context.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Canadian American philosopher. He teaches at Rockford University, where he also directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. In his book, Explaining Postmodernism, <\/em>he seeks to trace the origins of our current intellectual way of thinking.\u00a0 As Marcus Verhaegh states, \u201cHe attempts to demonstrate the way in which \u201cpostmodern\u201d ideas have more illustrious roots in the Western intellectual tradition than one might expect\u2014to the detriment of that tradition[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Postmodernism is a reaction against modernity. Therefore, to understand the postmodern worldview, one must understand its predecessor. Modernity\u2019s start date is closely linked to the Enlightenment Period and the rise of intellectual pursuit.[3]<\/sup><\/a> With modernity, Reason became “God,” promising that life would improve as humanity increased in knowledge. Peter Gay describes the growth of modernity as the optimistic belief that “life [was] getting better, safer, easier, healthier, more predictable\u2014that is to say, more rational.”[4]<\/sup><\/a> \"\"<\/p>\n

In light of this optimism, a trinity of beliefs\u2014in science, technology, and economics\u2014empowered the individualist mindset of the modernist movement. In reaction to this Enlightenment brand of faith, another shift occurred: the postmodern view rejected “na\u00efve realism” (objective reality), even to the extreme of claiming “there is no such thing as Truth.”[5]<\/sup><\/a> Although postmodernism and postmodernity cannot be reduced to a single definition or stream of thought, many (primarily outside of the postmodern camp) define it under the term relativism.<\/em><\/p>\n

J. P. Moreland, an American philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist explains that postmodernism<\/p>\n

represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as reality, truth, Reason, value, linguistic meaning, the self, and other notions. In a postmodern view, there is no such thing as objective reality, truth, value, Reason, and so forth. All these are social constructions, creations of linguistic practices, and, as such, are relative not to individuals but to social groups that share a narrative.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Due to the influence of philosophers such as Emmanuel L\u00e9vinas, Jacques Derrida and Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Lyotard, the grand “meta-narratives” of the modern age were no longer considered valid, as all understanding now stemmed from the literary theorists’ understanding that words have different meaning depending on the context in which they are used. David Lyon supplements this point well in his book Jesus in Disneyland<\/em>, where he writes the following:<\/p>\n

Indeed, at one level, postmodernism is all about the demise of the grand narratives, the superstories of modern times, the decline of ideological commitment to big ideas like the nation state or progress. Within postmodernism, Reason loses its capital R, science softens its hard edges, and knowledge is seen\u2014and felt\u2014as (con)textual, local, and relative.[7]<\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The intellectual shift towards postmodernism and the demise of grand meta-narratives to many in the Church are seen as the<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

the secularization of society. As such, this intellectual shift poses a challenge to the concept of paracletic leadership in the fact that paracletic leadership originates from the story (narrative) of God. The relevant question becomes, does the postmodern culture have space for paracletic leadership grand meta-narratives? If Charles Taylor and recent studies are correct, then the answer is yes.[8]<\/a> James K. A. Smith goes one step further and challenges Christians and the Church to embrace the postmodern deconstruction of metanarratives.[9]<\/a> For Smith, this allows the Church and Christians to live out the story of God in its worship and practices.[10]<\/a> As Berger notes, our world \u201cis as furiously religious as it ever was.\u201d[11]<\/a> Even the corporate world is not immune to the continuing spiritual domain as resources have flooded the marketplace as people and leaders search for answers.[12]<\/a> Patricia Aburdene, one of the world\u2019s leading social forecasters, stats, “the quest for spirituality is the greatest megatrends of our era[13]<\/a> Paracletic leadership, therefore, is poised to be an effective framework to impact the emerging generation in both the Church and the marketplace.<\/p>\n

———————————-<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Stephen R. C. Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault <\/em>(UK: Ockham\u2019s Razor Publishing, 2011), 1.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>.” \u201cBook Review: Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, by Stephen R. C. Hicks.\u201d The Independent Institute. Accessed February 6, 2020. https:\/\/www.independent.org\/publications\/tir\/article.asp?id=555.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Heath White, Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 12.<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] Peter Gay, The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, <\/em>vol. 2, The Science of Freedom <\/em>(New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1969), 12.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Brian Duignan, \u201cPostmodernism,\u201d Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/em>, last modified October 25, 2018, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/postmodernism-philosophy.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> J.\u00a0P. Moreland, Kingdom Triangle: Recover the Christian Mind, Renovate the Soul, Restore the Spirit\u2019s Power<\/em> (Grands Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 77.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> David Lyon, Jesus in Disneyland: Religion in Postmodern Times<\/em> (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2013), preface, Kindle.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Charles Taylor, A Secular Age<\/em> (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007), 2-3.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> James K. A. Smith, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church, The Church and Postmodern Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), 68.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a>Ibid., 77.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Peter L. Berger, The Desecularization of the World: A <\/em>Global Overview<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 2.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Strack, Gary, and Myron D. Fottler. \u201cSpirituality and Effective Leadership in Healthcare: Is There a Connection?\u201d Frontiers of Health Services Management 18.4 (2002), 2.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a>.” Patricia, Aburdene, Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism<\/em> (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton, 2007), 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The general agreement suggests that we live in a postmodern context.[1] Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Canadian American philosopher. He teaches at Rockford University, where he also directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. In his book, Explaining Postmodernism, he seeks to trace the origins of our current intellectual way of thinking.\u00a0 As Marcus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[1321,1765,395,1541],"class_list":["post-25741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biography-drama-history","tag-dminlgp9","tag-explaining-postmodernity","tag-postmodernism","tag-spirit-led-leadership","cohort-lgp9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25741"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25745,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25741\/revisions\/25745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}