Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

Are we headed
back toward
a dark age?
Or forward
toward
the light?

Post 26. 03/30/2018 continued . . .

The Postmodern Critique

The Age of Re-Enlightenment

Postmodernists (PMs) typically associate Modernism with capitalist imperialism and colonialism. But even former colonies are now gaining power, as they learn the rules of the science game, and leave behind the old power games of dictators. Enlightenment ideals and Modern communication technologies gradually weakened ancient regimes of power (feudalism, imperial church) in the American and French revolutions.  Then, the Marxist economic revolution rose and fell, due in part to Communism’s unrealistic & impractical approach to governing large mixed societies. But the power-to-the-people imagery still retains its appeal to the downtrodden.

Leftist PMs typically view science & technology as tools of the power elite. It’s true that the 2% do get first dibs on cool new stuff, but in developed democratic countries even poor people carry cell phones, because modern technology makes power tools affordable for all. Right-wing global-warming deniers, though, rely on political ploys rather than technical facts to show that climate-change proponents are biased against the status quo Capitalists. Bombastic pols, on both sides of the aisle, like to use scientific language to bolster their otherwise irrational arguments. Unfortunately, a-political scientists tend to avoid the rough-&-tumble of democratic government; leaving the civic arena to more aggressive players.

If politics was all about practical power though, with no guiding principles, then we would have no alternative but to choose sides and fight. That may be why most peace-loving societies agree to certain stipulated “truths”, that are not to be questioned, in order to avoid any unpleasant facts that might undermine the system. But opposing forces, right & left wings, like to accuse their opponents of violating the core truths of the Constitution : a set of agreed-upon rules for governing. So, even those “self-evident truths” are subject to interpretation. Which is why we also need mutual trust & good will in order to keep the peace.

It's also true that Enlightenment values3 of individual liberty and freedom of belief are often swept-under-the-rug by power-hungry leaders when push-comes-to-shove. So, the views of the weakest members of a society don’t count when the votes are counted. Progressive Modernism placed more value on material growth than on social evolution. So, Post-modernism, in its attempts to rectify that moral lapse, almost killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Egalitarianism & Moral Relativism may be good for the lower classes & outcastes, but weaken the economic engine of Capitalism, and the social structure of Nationalism. Moreover, MR implies that obviously illiberal practices, such as slavery, must be allowed, as the "right" of each culture to set its own rules.

In both classical Greek and Renaissance eras though, ideal moral truths were taken for granted, even as they were violated in practice. Still, each society must evolve toward that elusive perfect moral system envisioned by idealists, or go the way of the dinosaurs. Hence, criticism of moral lapses and "strange practices" is necessary. But all Paradigms require a foundation in some eternal truths, even if they are assumed for their theoretical value, not their proven truth value. Perhaps the BothAnd successor to Postmodernism will be called the “Re-Enlightenment”, as old verities are re-discovered. 

End of Post 26

• Modernism :
   Inherited the scientific methods & attitudes of the Enlightenment, but focused more on technological expertise than on philosophical wisdom. Thus, its rapid material progress was at the expense of spiritual values, and often left some large segments of society behind in the rush for the next great thing.    Postmodernism was an attempt to level the playing field for less-developed nations, and for the forgotten people of various genders, colors, and locations. Ironically, its academic language was often lost on the very ones it was intended to raise up.

• Paradigm :
a pattern of ideas, a worldview, a set of assumptions, a framework for approaching problems.

•Truthiness :
   Apparently, in the PM view, the only truth is herd truth. If so, the enlightened ones should reject “panic truth” when the herd is stampeding toward a cliff, but go along when calmly chewing the rational cud, or when following an experienced expert bell cow. PM seems to be suspicious of all experts, which leaves us either to rely on the wisdom of crowds, or to go it alone.

3. Enlightenment Values :
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• Natural Hierarchy :
   Nature is inherently hierarchical, but Culture allows us to violate the rules of natural order. Sometimes to our own detriment. Nature weeds out the weak, in favor of the strong, but modern science allows the weak to survive and reproduce, thus inadvertently weakening the gene pool.
   In the future, we must find BothAnd solutions that are both humane and sustainable.

• A-political Science :
   The scientific method is not magic, and not exclusive. It's merely ordinary ways of knowing minus the self-deception of cultural and linguistic biases. It has been called “enlightened common sense”.
   But the rigid hierarchies of traditional political powers were typically tolerated by a-political Modernists, in their rush to make economic profits, and by scientists, in their focus on technical progress..