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Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023

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are we all postmoderns?

Aww, shoot. I was working on an effort post about postmodernism and the signaling barber-pole, guess I’ve been beaten to the punch…

*Christian apologetics, 2002 vintage*

Never mind. I’m still in business.

I don’t think you are using “postmodern” correctly. Merely deriding (Derriding?) philosophy isn’t enough. For example, you argue that experience of God is “probably” a substitute for philosophy. I think you’ve got the wrong interpretation of Colossians 2.

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,

7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

This is not an exhortation against intellect. It is ranking one tradition—the Church—over competing interests. Perhaps this may be framed as the struggles of an early Church? Consideration of human interests, of the systems of knowledge which motivated and informed the creation of a work, is what makes the criticism post-structural.

Postmodernism is neither reductionist nor anti-rational. It posits alternate structures, understanding of which supplements an inadequate rationality. It rejects epistemic certainty rather than endorsing it. This is perfectly compatible with agnosticism.

It also makes the user sound like a tool, should he spend too much time smugly pointing out contradictions and deconstructing systems. So…yeah. I suppose we are all postmoderns.