Last week in The Road to Reason, we briefly discussed the consequences of a society that rejects truth and reality.
While we firmly believe in the importance of keeping truth and reality objective, we also acknowledge that many of our readers and Praxis Circle Contributors hold different views.
Here we will highlight the other side of the coin—postmodernism. By definition, postmodernism rejects modern confidence in Western logic with a general skepticism towards truth, reality, and reason.
But do all postmodernists reject objective truth?
From a worldview where there is quite literally no “right” answer, postmodernists are bound to offer different answers to this question. In fact, if we use their own technique of deconstruction, we find that many postmodernists have based their entire careers and even lives on truth, reality, and reason.
Consider these comments from our Contributors. (For those of you who don’t know many postmodernists, we promise you will find these clips very interesting. Each person is humble and honest, traits we could all benefit more from.):
Expert Contributor Deirdre McCloskey’s Personal Page
Expert Contributor Bart Ehrman’s Personal Page
Expert Contributor Ladelle McWhorter’s Personal Page
All truly fascinating perspectives on postmodernism. Each applies the idea of postmodernism to her or his life in different ways.
At Praxis Circle, we try to assist individuals in examining their worldview (or views), and how they put them into practice. After all, actions or lives-lived do speak louder than words—especially in the case of one’s worldview.
So, we must beg the questions:
- Can one be a postmodernist in a field that requires quantitative data and objective facts?
- Can one seek the historical reality of the past figuratively by day, yet operate personally postmodern by night?
- Can one really be a postmodernist at all without completely rejecting objective truth?
- How much objective truth or miraculous existence must exist before truth and miracles exist?
- How much reason is needed to answer these questions?
Worldview Angle: Every worldview implies an approach to big ideas like reason, truth, and free will. These are just starting points. We practice our ideas, and reality, if any, gives us feedback to shape our ideas (praxis).
What do you call a postmodernist whose actions imply the idea of truth? A cultural postmodernist? Why would a believer in truth call him- or herself a postmodernist, if placing any faith at all in reason and truth?
What do we call someone who calls him- or herself a Christian who does not believe in God, Jesus, or the Resurrection? A cultural Christian?
One thing we can be certain of when it comes to worldview and reason, the door often swings both ways.
