Traditions of the “Post”

The paper largely discusses three main traditions of research that have emerged as a
challenge to the western philosophies that have pervaded during the period of enlightenment.
These three traditions are namely Post-Modernism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Colonialism.
All three traditions have been considered a challenge to the status quo of the academic
western world, although much of these traditions themselves are born out of western authors
themselves.
The reasons why the creation of these traditions were prompted is in itself up for debate. One
argument is the disillusionment of the upcoming western academia with enlightenment values
due to its failure to deliver on the promises of a progressive paradise, and that technological
progress is the ultimate driver of progress of the human race in general. Another argument is
that political ideas stemming from the enlightenment era such as individualism, freedom,
progress and liberation have had misguided notions about their ultimate effects, and the
meaning these values are in some sense up for debate. It is argued that an unfettered
following of such values might have led us down a path of capitalism that encourages social
ills, leading society towards a path of inequality and moral breakdown.
Whatever be the reason, these traditions have had a huge impact and have called into question
the foundational assumptions of western philosophy and thought during the enlightenment
period. These ideas are discussed in further detail below.
Post-Modernism
Postmodernism is a challenge specifically to the metaphysical tradition of the enlightenment
era, which includes the promotion of values such as rationality, individualism and progress.
Postmodernism challenges the view of creating consensus and celebrates differentiation and
plurality. In some sense, postmodernism has issues with the general idea of a rational
perspective, and that it can be achieved. It instead suggests that multiple interpretations are a
desirable trait. Postmodernism’s focus of analysis is more concerned with art and society in
general.
The ideas of Jean- Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard are discussed in detail among the
major Postmodern propositions. Lyotard attacks the presence of metanarratives or grand
overarching narratives that drive the mode of thinking of society. In the modern or
enlightenment tradition, the metanarrative he primarily attacks is the notion of objective
knowledge in modern knowledge systems. Lyotard questions the presence of an overarching
knowledge created based on universal concepts such as Darwinism and Marxism. He
questions the validity of such concepts, and thinks that local narratives should be the basis
and will be the basis of truth in the future. Thus, Lyotard focusses on plurality of knowledge
perspectives.
Baudrillard’s unlike Lyotard are not just critiques of modernity but rather is an analysis of the
society that modernity and its ideas have created. Baudrillard major ideas surround how
society’s understanding what is reality has become removed what is real and has become
instead a representation based on signs and symbols created by the conditions of a
postmodern society. Baudrillard talks about how postmodern society has created its own
language system that leads us to a situation where language seemingly does not refer to real
phenomenon and instead refers to structures within this language system itself. This leads to
language not being a representation of reality but a representation of copies of reality. As
language becomes self-referential, the ideas within this language system and their interaction
with each other becomes the basis of reality. Baudrillard also talks about narratives and how
the postmodern society has made people into passive observers instead of being active
participants in the creation of reality.
Postmodernism’s research practices thus overall concerns the criticism of grand narratives
and puts emphasis on plurality and differentiation. It also suggests the injection of irony into
the method of research with the amalgamation of various viewpoints within a single piece of
research work.
Post-Structuralism
Much like Postmodernism, Poststructuralism also has disdain for meta or grand narratives,
but focuses on language and intellectual traditions and its relation to institutions and power,
unlike postmodernism’s focus on the arts. Due to its focus on literary and intellectual ideas,
poststructuralism has been harder for the conventional and modern intellectual circles to
critique, as the questions raised have serious implications for knowledge and its meanings.
The ideas of Jacque Derrida and Michel Foucault are discussed in detail among the ideas of
Poststructuralism. Derrida’s idea of deconstruction of language is the primary aspect of his
philosophy. Derrida’s focus of analysis is the nature and form of language, and the large
impact it can have on the project of Philosophy itself. Derrida states that philosophy is a
subset of the tradition of language and should be understood as such. Derrida suggests the
strategy of deconstruction, a process of analysing the written language for the purposes of
finding gaps within the assumptions and conclusions of widely accepted philosophical ideas.
Deconstruction seeks to bear out the central ideas of a philosophical text and also its wider
implications other themes and broad categories of ideas. It also seeks to bring about the
limitations of language, and how any philosophical idea is limited due to the presence of
literary limitations.
Foucault’s ideas relate to a careful analysis of history and how ideas and concepts can change
in meaning over a period of time. Instead of taking an evolutionary view of progress onto a
superior culminating point, Foucault stresses on how accidental events can lead to differing
outcomes of meaning over a period of time. Foucault uses two methods, namely Archaeology
and Genealogy. Archaeology examines specific conditions that led to the identification of
concepts and ideas towards its specific present situation. Genealogy on the other hand
analyses subjugated knowledge, i.e., ideas that got lost in time and the fleshing out of these
ideas to give a more complete context of how the contemporary understanding of some
concept came to be. Foucault also discusses the idea of the panopticon, which is the idea of
the ultimate surveillance that leads to the self-disciplining of the individual out of fear of
being observed, rather than the disciplining through the punishment of the individual from
society. Foucault through Genealogy, also analyses how power structures can get shaped
through the contemporary understanding of ideas. Foucault through this arrives at a
completely different conceptualisation of power, where knowledge and power become
synonymous or interchangeable concepts.
Post-Colonialism
Unlike the other two traditions discussed which are more philosophical in nature and less
materialistic, post-colonialism is geared more towards relationships between past colonial
powers and their colonies. It analyses the legacy of the colonial period, how some
enlightenment values justified some of the behaviours of the colonial powers and how this
relationship ultimately changed the dynamic of culture and society in general.
Postcolonialism analysis has led to the understanding of the justifications presented for some
of the basic tenets of western civilisation such as the market economy, and juxtaposes it with
the imperialist practices of the colonial era. The emergence of this tradition has its roots in
the intellectual foundations of the freedom struggles that were undertaken by the people of
the colonies. Aspects of racial and cultural identity and how they have evolved due to the
colonial period are fleshed out, and the extent control that colonial powers imposed on their
colonies are laid bare in this tradition.
Postcolonialism not only talks about the past colonial practices, but also talks about the
current practices that have ensured control of the western colonial powers on the worldwide
economy. Basically, it posits that even though the colonial era has been said to be in the past,
the cultural aspects of this era still help the western colonisers exert control over their
colonies, especially through the creation of global institutions such as the World Bank and
the IMF. Much of the cultural justifications behind colonial control is seen in the
representation of the colonies as being inferior to the western powers, seen in the cultural
elements that portray the people of the colonies as savages and in some sense living the past.