Definition
Postmodernism is an ideological and philosophical movement that rejects objective truth, universal reason, and the existence of a single, coherent reality. It posits that knowledge is a social construct used to maintain power structures, leading to a celebration of subjective “lived experience” and “my truth” over empirical facts and the scientific method. Gad Saad refers to it as “intellectual terrorism masquerading as faux-profundity.”
Why It Matters
Postmodernism is the “Idea Pathogen” that attacks the immune system of reason. By claiming everything is a “Power Narrative,” it makes scientific progress impossible—why look for facts if they’re just “social constructs”? If this ideology wins, we lose the “Shared Yardstick” of reality, leading to a “War of All against All” where subjective feelings trump biological facts.
Core Concepts
- Rejection of Objective Truth: The core tenet that there are no absolute truths, only “narratives” and “discourses” that are culturally and linguistically determined.
- Deconstructionism: The practice of breaking down language and texts to reveal hidden contradictions and power dynamics, often leading to impenetrable gibberish.
- Obscurantisme Terroriste: A term used by Michel Foucault to describe Jacques Derrida’s style, where 10% of a text is made intentionally incomprehensible to appear “deep” or profound.
- Epistemological Liberation: Freeing the individual from the “shackles of reality” by allowing them to define their own biological sex, race, or age through the “magic wand of subjectivity.”
- Infestation of the Hard Sciences: The spread of postmodernist thought into fields previously thought immune, resulting in absurdities like “feminist glaciology” or the “Science Must Fall” movement.