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Whether Kuhn’s ideas support “far-right authoritarian” politics is an interesting question. As the author here points out, postmodernism is typically thought of
by DataWorker 8y ago
Whether Kuhn’s ideas support “far-right authoritarian” politics is an interesting question. As the author here points out, postmodernism is typically thought of as progressive. It’s interesting to think about the alternative; perhaps the “might makes right” aspects of fascism that Morris sees as the result of Kuhn’s paradigms.
- foolrush 8y agoPostmodernism is a toolset, and the thinkers who are bunched together under its umbrella, frequently unwillingly, point out the issues with late rationalist epistemology. That is, the postmodernists are responsible for attempting to show the rest of the people that the boat has severe cracks. Fascists and right wing authoritarianism has already been exploiting the cracks forever. Blaming postmodernism for anything is laughable. It’s not a cause, it’s a series of well informed observations. https://reallifemag.com/faked-out/ https://reallifemag.com/faked-out/
- vixen99 8y ago“A writer who says that there are no truths, or that all truth is ‘merely relative,’ is asking you not to believe him. So don’t.” ― Roger Scruton
- foolrush 8y agoBecause epistemology is simple. /facepalm Postmodernism posits a plurality of truths, as well as underscores the demarcation problem.
- jhbadger 8y agoOriginally it was mostly progressive, but the toolset of postmodernism, particularly the whole "science is just a social construct no better than other social constructs" is also very useful for the right wing when science doesn't support their conclusions either. For instance, the creationists in the 2005 Dover trial brought in Steve Fuller, a postmodern philosopher, to testify on their behalf.
- DataWorker 8y agoSo there’s Foucault, Dellueze, Derrida and a bunch of other icons of the left. Who are the famous far-right authoritarian postmodernist thinkers? I’m drawing a blank.
- jhbadger 8y agoI don't know about "famous" but people like Steve Fuller. Wiliam Dembski and David Berlinski are people with philosophical training who use arguments from postmodernism in order to claim that evolutionary biology is just a social construct and not the only way to understand biology. They are pretty well known to people who follow the attempts of creationists to convince the public that evolutionary biology is somehow in crisis.
- dkural 8y agoIt's used for many types of political propaganda. Originally indeed it was for more progressive notions, in the last decade or so; more used to justify authoritarian assault on truth, facts etc. Climate change becomes "just an opinion" etc.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> postmodernism is typically thought of as progressive. Postmodernism is neither progressive nor conservative, neither libertarian nor authoritarian. Postmodernism is neither an ideology nor particularly friendly to any ideology. (There're ideologies it's particularly unfriendly to for epistemological reasons, but they don't cluster in any one area of any of the traditional political axes.)