Erin,
ERIN:
"MOQ is a response to the failure of enlightenment. Postmodernism is a
response to the failure of enlightenment.
They both show that truth is not 100% objective."
Fair enough, to a degree at least.
ERIN:
"True there are some responses to swing to the other extreme but these two
don't fall into it."
There are extreme elements to the MOQ and postmodernism. There is the
postmodern notion, for example, that all scientific knowledge is true only
within the relative confines of a like-minded social community. This drags
down scientific knowledge to the kind gained through literary criticism.
Put another way, the truth of some idea is determined by arguing over how
effectively one's manipulation of language succeeded in the context of the
current Zeitgeist. This quote of Rorty's about one of the great
Enlightenment thinkers is a gem of an example:
"Galileo’s terminology was the only *secret* he had - he didn’t
pick that terminology because it was 'clear' or 'natural,' or 'simple,'
or in line with the categories of the pure understanding. He just lucked
out".
Erin, you might agree with Rorty, but don't tell me his position is not
extreme. An article by T. Nagel that shares my views concerning pomo
attitudes toward science is at:
http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/nagel.html
It even has a quote from Boudrillard pertaining to the Enlightenment.
You might also check out Sokal and Bricmont's book about abuses and
misunderstandings of scientific concepts by postmodern intellectuals,
particularly French ones. These are very nearly as preposterous as
the new-age quantum quackery going about.
ERIN:
"All this reminds me of well I can't intellectually discredit it so I will
just associate with something negative."
Not at all, Erin. Certain elements of postmodern thought can be discredited
squarely on their own terms.
ERIN:
"If there is a more significant point please enlighten me."
My previous post took a passing swipe at pomos but its main point was to
expound on some possible reasons why one gets so many hits for "failure of
the enlightenment", as without these reasons the raw statistics might
leave a different impression.
Glenn
P.S. Want to dazzle your profs with a postmodern styled essay but just
don't have the knack? Check out:
http://www.elsewhere.org/cgi-bin/postmodern/
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