Postmodernism in the dock | Julian Baggini, Mina Salami, Hilary Lawson and Julie Bindel
Nov 1, 2022
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Julian Baggini, Mina Salami, Hilary Lawson, and Julie Bindel debate the value and implications of postmodernism. They discuss its impact on culture, knowledge production, academia, and society. The speakers explore alternative ways of knowing and transitioning to Closure theory. They also address concerns about truth, reality, and authoritarianism, emphasizing the importance of open-mindedness. The podcast also examines men's rights activists' claims on domestic violence, highlighting the prevalence of female victims and the lack of men's domestic violence refuges.
Postmodernism challenges the idea of a grand unifying narrative and emphasizes the need to understand the production and control of knowledge, rather than seeking an ultimate truth or theory of knowledge.
Postmodernism, when applied uncritically, can undermine important feminist causes and downplay the experiences of marginalized groups by blurring the lines between objective truths and individual narratives.
Deep dives
Postmodernism as a Sociological Critique of Knowledge
Postmodernism, as described in the podcast, is a sociological critique of knowledge in our society. It explores how knowledge is produced, controlled, and used. Postmodernism challenges the idea of a grand unifying narrative and recognizes the fracturing of society, which opens up opportunities for various perspectives. It highlights the need to understand the production and control of knowledge, rather than seeking an ultimate truth or theory of knowledge.
The Complexities of Postmodernism and its Implications
Postmodernism presents both exciting and problematic aspects. On one hand, it challenges the notion that everything is fixed, highlighting the social construction of concepts like gender and race. This creates space for new perspectives and thinking. On the other hand, it can foster a sense of everything being malleable, leading to a loss of power and disorientation. The podcast emphasizes the need to engage with postmodernism critically and explore other ways of knowing, while addressing the dangers of trivializing important social issues through a purely relativistic lens.
The Limitations and Controversies of Postmodernism
Postmodernism, when applied uncritically, can have negative consequences. The podcast discusses the problematic aspects of erasing the political category of women and redefining sexual violence or child sexual abuse. It highlights the risk of using postmodernist arguments to downplay or reinterpret serious issues, such as female genital mutilation or sexual violence. By blurring the lines between objective truths and individual narratives, postmodernism can undermine important feminist causes and downplay the experiences of marginalized groups.
Moving Forward: Observations and Challenges
The podcast suggests that we should move beyond postmodernism and focus on ways to improve our understanding and intervention in the world. It advocates for a perspective that recognizes the limitations of our own viewpoints and embraces observation and reason. While acknowledging the complexities and limitations of achieving objective truth, it emphasizes the importance of refining our tools of understanding and intervening in the world based on observation, reason, and shared knowledge. In this context, feminism is presented as a source of alternative ways of knowing and a means to challenge patriarchy.
It has been forty years since postmodernism swept through the academy changing the character of the arts and social sciences, impacting everything from literary criticism to anthropology, art history to sociology. Soon after it invaded culture generally and technical terms such as 'deconstruction' became widespread. Yet now its critics, including members of the British Cabinet, argue it ushered in an era of tribal conflict, woke culture, and populist deception and is at the source of a pernicious decline in reason and objective truth.
Should we seek to reverse the changes that postmodernism brought about and overturn its attack on the intellectual tradition of the West? Or was postmodernism a progressive force whose insights were largely correct? Or, do we need a new radical approach altogether?
Co-founder and editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine Julian Baggini, award-winning journalist Minna Salami, radical philosopher Hilary Lawson and boundary pushing feminist Julie Bindel line up as prosecution and defence with postmodernism in the dock. Hosted by journalist and author David Aaronovitch.