Non-Classical Philosophy in The West

Problematic Domains of Leading Contemporary Philosophical Trends

Philosophy of Postmodernism

Postmodernism is not merely a philosophical phenomenon, or not solely philosophical in nature. As a distinctive cultural and spiritual occurrence, it is initially observed in the architecture, literature, and art of developed Western nations, gradually spreading into the realms of social and humanitarian sciences. In the last two decades of the previous century, postmodernism might even have claimed to be the most powerful and popular spiritual movement, with philosophers, particularly French ones, playing a significant role. However, let us first clarify some terminological issues.

In the term "postmodernism," the Latin prefix "post" ("after") denotes something that comes after modernism. Any "-ism" relates to ideology; thus, "modernism" and "postmodernism" express the ideologies of modernity and postmodernity. The term "modern" (from Latin modernus — new, contemporary) refers, from a socio-economic perspective, to a historical era and types of societies that replaced traditional societies. Traditional (or agrarian, pre-industrial) society began to form with the transition of ancient peoples to pastoralism and agriculture, lasting in various forms until the 17th century, and in some countries, until the late 19th century. In such a society, everything is regulated by tradition, and an individual's place and social status are also determined by tradition. This is a stratified society with a predominantly agrarian economy, characterized by low dynamism and a diminished status and role of the individual.

Modern society, in contrast, relies not on tradition but on rationality. Norms and values within this society prevail not because they are traditionally followed, but because they have undergone a process of rational justification and legal formulation before their implementation. The spiritual hallmarks of modern society include a belief in the power of reason, the great importance of knowledge and science, an emphasis on education, faith in the progressive movement of history, and the promotion of ideals such as freedom, equality, and tolerance. These ideals were articulated by the Enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century, during which, thanks to the industrial revolution, humanity transitioned into the industrial age.

Regarding art, the term "modern" was used to characterize a popular artistic style from the late 19th to the early 20th century, which sought to merge pure artistry with applied art, artistically recreating the entire natural environment in which individuals exist throughout their lives. Alongside "modern," the term "modernism" was employed, carrying a specific terminological nuance. It sometimes referred to the artistic works of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, where authors sought to find new forms and affirmed the stylistic convention of expression methods (such as expressionism, impressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, dadaism, surrealism, as well as what was generally termed abstract art).

The authors of the "Encyclopedia of Postmodernism" characterize "postmodernity" as encompassing a series of movements that arose in affluent countries of Europe and countries of European origin after World War II in art, architecture, literature, music, and in social and humanitarian sciences. Postmodernity, as such, is characterized by skepticism regarding the existence of certain foundations upon which reliable scientific assertions, specific norms, and values are built. Those who identify as postmodern seek to liberate themselves from various constraining practices.

The term "postmodernism" gained prominence following the 1984 English translation of the work by French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998) titled "The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge." In this work, the author focuses primarily on the crisis of legitimation that defines the conditions of postmodernity and the "war on grand narratives" (universals). This "war" signifies a process of reevaluation of knowledge, aesthetics, and politics in the post-Enlightenment era.

It should be noted that not all Western intellectuals unreservedly endorse the legitimacy of the terms "postmodernity" and "postmodernism" as descriptors of a unique, distinct stage in the development of societies and their artistic expression or philosophical reflection. Some leading Western thinkers indicate that the ideals of modernity, particularly rationalization—that is, the transformation of social order based on reason and scientific knowledge—continue to be realized. Many values articulated and widely acknowledged during the Enlightenment still await realization. When posed with Kant's question of whether we now (in the 18th century) live in an enlightened age or still in the age of enlightenment, we would respond today, at the beginning of the 21st century, with a resounding "no," indicating that the enlightened age has yet to arrive. Thus, in the ongoing perspective of modernity beyond the 20th century, its current stage is referred to as "late modernity," "the stage of reflexive modernization," or "second modernity," emphasizing that significant changes in the lives of European societies have indeed occurred, but all these changes remain within the framework of modernity. Nevertheless, "postmodernism" as a cultural and ideological phenomenon, as a somewhat delineated event, exists, along with its philosophical expression. Therefore, let us formulate the fundamental philosophical ideas of this movement and examine some leading categories that symbolize its essence.

Philosophical postmodernism positions itself in opposition to the entire philosophical tradition of the Modern era, the highest manifestation of which was the philosophical system of Hegel. The system of this German thinker embodies the key characteristics of a style of thought that is deemed unacceptable by postmodernists:

1. The grand narrative or metanarrative (from Latin narratio — narrative) in Lyotard's view is a story that underlies all other narratives, providing them with a model of vision, organization of information, and imbuing it with meaning and ideological orientation.
2. Logocentrism, which is the belief in the predominance of rationality in the world, a conviction in the priority of rational language and thought in human life, and the central role of logic in language.
3. The acknowledgment of the structured nature of being, meaning the pursuit of discovering established orders (or structures) in all realms of reality.
4. A certainty in the primacy of identity over difference.
5. A belief in the existence of certain fundamental principles that underlie being, which nourished the existence of metaphysics as a philosophical doctrine about the ultimate foundations of being.
6. Confidence in the correctness of the traditional (from Plato to Hegel) concept of representation, that is, the belief that "truth" exists and that it adequately represents reality.

These and other attributes of traditional European thought are categorically rejected by representatives of postmodernism.

For them, logocentrism manifests as a hyperbolization of one side of numerous binary oppositions (such as right-left, male-female, oral language-writing). Hence arises the desire to dismantle the hierarchy of violence that is subtly embedded in binary oppositions and manifests in society.

When discussing the structured nature of everything, postmodernists reject the very concept of "structure" (hence they may also be termed poststructuralists). Instead, figures like Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari propose the notion of "rhizome," borrowed from botany, which serves as a metaphor for something decentralized, non-hierarchical, and in constant motion without a beginning or end. If a tree can symbolize structuredness, then grass (for instance, Zoysia, Dactylis) serves as the symbol of the rhizome, growing horizontally, sending out creeping shoots in all directions, giving rise to new plants that also send out their shoots, creating a surface without depth or a specific center.

The confidence in the primacy of identity led classical philosophy and science to acknowledge the existence of regularity in both nature and societal life, as the concept of law signified that there exists similarity, repetition, and stability in the world. Postmodernists, however, regard all this as an exaggeration. The French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995), who aligns closely with certain postmodernist positions, discusses in his work "Difference and Repetition" the traditional dominance of the philosophy of repetition (identity), asserting that even when there is talk of a balanced relationship between identity and difference, identity is still conceived as primary. Deleuze contends that difference, rather than identity, is the original relation. Difference, above all, does not indicate similarity but points toward another difference, for those who think inconsistently about difference hold on to the idea of the whole, system, or unity. "To extract difference from its cursed position is, in this case, the task of the philosophy of difference," Deleuze notes.

Postmodernism's critical stance toward traditional metaphysics resonates with many other currents of contemporary Western thought. For proponents of postmodernism, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger serve as significant inspirations. Nietzsche, for instance, was fundamentally an advocate of a non-systematic approach to writing. The numerous aphoristic statements in his works defy systematic categorization, complicating the formation of a coherent conception of Nietzsche's philosophy. To do so is nearly impossible. From the aphorisms emerges only a "philosophical mood," rather than a system of organized and reasoned thoughts.

Philosophical postmodernism has crafted a specific and potent conceptual apparatus that has long transcended philosophy itself, becoming a tool of general cultural significance. Thus, it is worth mentioning some of the concepts introduced by the most renowned representative of postmodernism, the French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004).

The formation of his philosophical stance was significantly influenced by the works of Nietzsche, Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), Sigmund Freud, Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913), and the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). The main issues that Jacques Derrida addressed in his work include the nature of language and human knowledge, the possibility of truth, and the legitimization of philosophy as an episteme (in the sense attributed by Michel Foucault). Throughout his life, Derrida authored around eighty books and over a thousand articles and interviews. His major works include "Of Grammatology," "Writing and Difference," "Voice and Phenomenon," "Dissemination," and "The Ghosts of Marx." Henceforth, let us delve into some key concepts that, after Derrida, have become emblematic of postmodernism.

Deconstruction. Many of the concepts used by Derrida were shaped by the philosophies of Husserl and Heidegger. Some were based on the works of G.W.F. Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud, and Saussure. In particular, the concept of "deconstruction" arose in Derrida from attempts to better translate the German terms Destruktion (destruction) and Abbau (removal, cancellation) from Heidegger's philosophy, which were in turn linked to the notion of Aufhebung (sublation, cancellation, "lifting") in Hegelian philosophy. Derrida sought to find in the French language a term that would encompass both negative and positive meanings, embodying both destructive and constructive actions. This term is "deconstruction." But what was it intended to express philosophically? The answer to this question lies in Derrida's relationship to classical philosophy and his thoughts regarding the future of philosophy.

Derrida was formed by the works of Husserl and Heidegger and reacted critically to Heidegger's aspiration to conclude the Western metaphysical tradition. For Heidegger, metaphysics signified not only a doctrine of fundamental essences but also a general attitude toward reality, through which European culture has wandered since the ancient Greek Eleatics, on a misguided path that neglects being as a mode of human existence in the world, treating being in isolation from humanity. Heidegger initially proposed to conduct a "dismantling" of the concepts of traditional metaphysics for the purpose of their new arrangement, a new "montage," which would contribute to resolving the historical task of "removing," "destroying" the negative metaphysical tradition in Western culture.

Derrida did not initially set such perspectives before himself. Eighteen years after Derrida first employed the term "deconstruction" in his work "Of Grammatology," he explained in one of his letters that this term should not be understood as signifying any general method of structuralist or poststructuralist nature. At that time, it concerned "analyzing, breaking down, layering structures... But to analyze, break down, or layer structures... was not a negative operation. Rather than merely destroying, it was also necessary to understand how some 'ensemble' was constructed, to reconstruct it for that purpose." Yet, however much Derrida tried to limit the parameters of the deconstructive procedure based on his initial intentions, the term gained extraordinary popularity in the United States, being adopted by feminists, literary critics, and widely disseminated in mass media when discussing the "deconstruction" of fashion, cuisine, and so forth.

As for the procedure of deconstructing metaphysical philosophy and the concepts of metaphysics, this procedure ultimately represented for postmodernists a resistance against the dictates of "logocentrism," "phonocentrism," and other "isms" that derive from specific, historically and culturally selected aspects of binary oppositions. The aim of deconstruction is to destabilize the imagined immutability of metaphysical concepts, to uncover the "ruptures" within their meanings, and to weaken the principle of identity in favor of "difference" and "distinction." Here, we may now transition to other terms that are popular among postmodernists.

Difference (différence) and Distinction (differAnce). In philosophy, the tradition of using these terms reaches back to the very origins of philosophy itself, when the earliest ontological teachings sought to address the relationship between difference and identity of things, attempting to find the foundation of identity. However, for Derrida, the focus on these terms was influenced more by authors closer to him (Hegel and Saussure) and his own objectives. Specifically concerning Hegel, Derrida emphasizes difference, rather than identity, in interpreting the relationship between the pair "identity/difference" and rejects the interpretation of Aufhebung as sublation, since in Hegelian philosophy sublation serves as a mechanism for preserving identity in the process of the development of things. The refutation of the idea of the dominance of identity is possible even without appealing to examples from reality itself. As a philosopher working with texts rather than objects, Derrida shares the general poststructuralist position regarding the text. Any text—even one whose author relies on the idea of identity of meaning—contains differences in meanings, with ruptures and hidden discrepancies within meanings. There are "nonsensical differences," leading to the emergence of new meanings. At the same time, Derrida introduces another operation, which he names distinction (différance). In the French word différance, which differs from différence not in sound but only in writing, some other meanings of difference are felt, namely: to differ, to not be identical; to be delayed (to be deferred in time and distanced in space); to differ in thoughts. All of this is seen by Derrida as significant for text analysis.

Dissemination (dissemination). The linguistic meaning of this word is to distribute, scatter, or disperse. In Derrida's context, it signifies a process by which the meanings of any terms are distributed within language, never reaching completion. To all attempts to establish a meaningful unity of the text, Derrida opposes an action aimed at the dissemination of meaning. The meaning of the text remains elusive due to the oppositions concealed within it, which are insurmountable.

Even these terms, mentioned as examples from Derrida’s works, attest to the orientation of postmodernist practice toward dismantling the foundations of traditional philosophy. The linguistic turn in philosophy that occurred in the mid-twentieth century signified, in the face of postmodernism, the utilization of linguistic apparatus and its related sciences against metaphysics as the foundation of traditional philosophizing.