The Evolution of Thought: From Enlightenment to Postmodernism

This chapter traces the development of ideas from the Enlightenment period's emphasis on progress and reason to the rise of relativism and postmodernism in the 1980s. It discusses the impact of factors like multiculturalism, civil rights movements, and global events on shaping modern skepticism towards progress and moral relativism, as observed by Alan Bloom. The chapter also explores Bloom's critique of postmodernist views that challenge the notions of objective truth and goodness, highlighting the shift in how the good has been perceived within different cultural perspectives.