{"id":41307,"date":"2025-03-20T18:16:32","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=41307"},"modified":"2025-03-20T18:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:22:11","slug":"41307-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/41307-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Postmodernism UGH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before even getting to page one, philosophy professor, Stephen Hicks, Ph.D. let his reader know his thesis: The failure of epistemology made postmodernism possible, and the failure of socialism made postmodernism necessary[1]<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Knowing that, I anticipated the reading of this book to be a clear and flowing experience. It was anything but that. Philosophy has not been a subject of choice for me. It seems like people sharing their musings and human struggles then pronouncing them as truth or claiming there is no truth available. To help me make sense of this, I went to a couple of podcasts, a youtube video, the Webster Dictionary, and a few other sources. Somehow I thought if I could define everything it would make sense. Yet even though it did not satisfy my struggles, there were some pieces that seemed to help make sense of things.<\/p>\n

There were three things that caused me to pause this week. The first was a connection I sensed with this book and The Hero With A Thousand Faces[2]<\/strong><\/a><\/em>. \u00a0Like Joseph Campbell posited in the hero\u2019s journey that was present in many of the religions of the world, philosophical thinkers found ways to explain away reason and theology. In a review of Hicks’ work, \u201cBook Review: Explaining Postmodernism\u201d, Anoop Verma, wrote that Hicks regarded Immanuel Kant as the main \u201cculprit\u201d regarding the anti-realist and anti-reason aspect of postmodernism[3]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I read in Hicks\u2019 thesis that epistemology has failed to say that knowledge and reason have failed. \u00a0To this I want to lean into what I find is prevalent in scripture regarding the importance of knowledge. The first that comes to mind are from two of the gospels. In the first four verses, Luke 1:1-4, explained that he, Luke, investigated details about Jesus\u2019s life with those who were eyewitnesses so that those reading would KNOW the certainty of the gospel. Likewise, throughout the gospel of John, one of Jesus\u2019 disciples, John\u2019s gospel included miraculous things that Jesus did, demonstrating his divinity. Poignantly, though, Jesus says to the Jews who were listening to Him \u00a0in John 8:31-32 \u201cIf you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free\u201d. He was talking about them being slaves to satan\u2019s deception, which they denied. But they did not know and follow Jesus.<\/p>\n

All of this is to say that Christianity supports knowledge, especially when it is grounded in the truth of Jesus\u2019 life, ministry, death, and resurrection. \u00a0Psalm 46:1-3, 7, 10, that starts with all the turmoil going on , claims the Lord Almighty is with us and in verse 10 says, \u201cBe Still and KNOW that I am God\u201d. In stillness we come before the Lord God and deeply sense the truth of God\u2019s presence. Philosophers might claim that I am na\u00efve but if that what it means to believe in Jesus, then so be it.<\/p>\n

I want to move to another section with this post by focusing on the essay at the conclusion of the book, \u201cFree Speech and Postmodernism\u201d. Hicks explained that postmodernists see speech as a weapon between two groups that are unequal in a conflict, with white men holding the power. The liberal view of speech is that it is a tool for learning and communication for individuals who are free[4]<\/a>. While I believe there is historical truth that white men have enjoyed more access and power throughout history, I do not think the conclusion should be some form of censorship. Since the war between Israel and Hamas started, university campuses have been rife with people speaking out. This has resulted in faculty and presidents being terminated at a number of universities[5]<\/a>. In a Harvard Magazine<\/em> article titled, \u201cAcademic Freedom and Free Speech, Dr. Robert C. Post clarified the differences between academic freedom and freedom of speech. In a university setting the purpose of words are to gain understanding and to pursue knowledge. While in the pubic forum, ideas and words are shared to express opinions which is protected by freedom of speech[6]<\/a>. This aligns with Hicks who then recognized that speech has also been used as a weapon in conflicts between groups[7]<\/a>. So where am I in this mixed-up mess? I believe that freedom of speech is important, especially in universities where there is need to ponder and try out learning through words to gain knowledge and wisdom. However, I do think that there should be commonly accepted limits surrounding it. Speech that promotes hatred toward others based on their race, religion, or nationality breeds hatred and unrest. Freedom of speech regarding opinions, politics, and other general discussion or important topics should be unlimited unless they promote unlawful acts. \u00a0Circling back to John 8, I believe Jesus was talking about this hatred when he talked to the Pharisees in the temple when he told them their father was the devil in Luke 8:44.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, I believe that ultimately faith is about believing what is unseen. I lean on the truth of the scriptures and the knowledge \u00a0through Jesus that faith in the triune God; Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer is where ultimate freedom lies. I guess that means I am not embracing postmodernism, and I am fine with that.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Stephen R.C. Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism, Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Orlando, FL: Ockham\u2019s Razor Publishing, 2014), Contents page<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces<\/em> 3rd<\/sup> ed. (Novato: New World Library, 2008)<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Anoop Verma, \u201cBook Review:\u00a0Explaining Postmodernism,\u00a0by Stephen Hicks\u201d, The Savvy Street<\/em>, June 11, 2016. \u00a0https:\/\/www.thesavvystreet.com\/book-review-explaining-postmodernism-by-stephen-hicks\/<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Kicks, 237.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Lincoln Caplan, \u201cAcademic Freedom and Free Speech\u201d, Havard Magazine<\/em>, September-October 2024. https:\/\/www.harvardmagazine.com\/2024\/09\/harvard-academic-freedom-free-speech.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Caplan, 1.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Hicks, 237.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before even getting to page one, philosophy professor, Stephen Hicks, Ph.D. let his reader know his thesis: The failure of epistemology made postmodernism possible, and the failure of socialism made postmodernism necessary[1]. Knowing that, I anticipated the reading of this book to be a clear and flowing experience. It was anything but that. Philosophy has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[1],"tags":[2967,1764],"class_list":["post-41307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03","tag-hicks","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41307","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\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41307"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41312,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41307\/revisions\/41312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}