The dictionary says that postmodernism is “characterised by a rejection of ideology and theory in favour of a plurality of values and techniques.” Basically it says that there is more than one way of doing things and that it really doesn’t matter – we have to make up our own minds. An “all roads lead to Rome” idea.
The problem is that it doesn’t work.
Yes, we have to make up our own minds on how we are going to do things – that’s the beauty of free will – but the problem is that some paths just end up in disaster.
Here’s an example. The idea that the type of films young people watch and the computer games they play can seriously influence them has been around for a long time. A Home Office study reported in 1977 showed as much. But the backlash was that there are people who were exposed to extreme sex and violence as a child who are as decent as any other member of the human race. Whilst that may be true, it’s a non-argument: it is selective observation, or cherry picking. The issue here comes from the assumption that we can somehow ‘know’ how a child will turn out if we subject them to such material. Some people get lucky. Others get scarred.
The path we choose to take will have an effect on how we live our lives, and can even affect the lives of those around us – especially children.
And here’s where postmodernism fails. It says that we should be free to do what we want to do, that people shouldn’t judge just because it isn’t their cup of tea, and that there are many expressions and interpretations of things. Now, whilst a lot of this is good, there is one huge problem… and it comes from the application of postmodernism into society.
Postmodernism is enforced by adults. These are people who have grown up with a strong set of rules (whether they abided by them or rebelled against them, they knew those rules) and have grown to a level of intellectual understanding to be able to question those rules. It’s like being taught about black and white, and then learning about the grey area in between.
But postmodernism enforces the grey area without establishing the black and white. It means our children don’t have any rules to question, no boundaries to push against. By enforcing postmodern philosophy we actually prevent the next generation from learning the way we learned.
As adults, we can understand that there is a big grey area. But young people are still learning. We need to be aware that whilst some of them can understand the greyness, others cannot, and we are all (adults included) at different stages.
The argument of postmodernism is supposedly one of freedom against established (‘old fashioned’) rules. I wonder if in reality it is arguing for non-responsibility.
The problem is that it doesn’t work.
Yes, we have to make up our own minds on how we are going to do things – that’s the beauty of free will – but the problem is that some paths just end up in disaster.
Here’s an example. The idea that the type of films young people watch and the computer games they play can seriously influence them has been around for a long time. A Home Office study reported in 1977 showed as much. But the backlash was that there are people who were exposed to extreme sex and violence as a child who are as decent as any other member of the human race. Whilst that may be true, it’s a non-argument: it is selective observation, or cherry picking. The issue here comes from the assumption that we can somehow ‘know’ how a child will turn out if we subject them to such material. Some people get lucky. Others get scarred.
The path we choose to take will have an effect on how we live our lives, and can even affect the lives of those around us – especially children.
And here’s where postmodernism fails. It says that we should be free to do what we want to do, that people shouldn’t judge just because it isn’t their cup of tea, and that there are many expressions and interpretations of things. Now, whilst a lot of this is good, there is one huge problem… and it comes from the application of postmodernism into society.
Postmodernism is enforced by adults. These are people who have grown up with a strong set of rules (whether they abided by them or rebelled against them, they knew those rules) and have grown to a level of intellectual understanding to be able to question those rules. It’s like being taught about black and white, and then learning about the grey area in between.
But postmodernism enforces the grey area without establishing the black and white. It means our children don’t have any rules to question, no boundaries to push against. By enforcing postmodern philosophy we actually prevent the next generation from learning the way we learned.
As adults, we can understand that there is a big grey area. But young people are still learning. We need to be aware that whilst some of them can understand the greyness, others cannot, and we are all (adults included) at different stages.
The argument of postmodernism is supposedly one of freedom against established (‘old fashioned’) rules. I wonder if in reality it is arguing for non-responsibility.
