The way of thought that

emerged in response to
Modernism and the events
of the 1960’s and beyond
Key Concepts
■ The real and unreal

■ Structuralism

■ Subjectivity and objectitivity

■ Antifoundationalism or at least a
skepticism towards
Foundationalism
 Postmodernistic
Thought
Students will be able to:
Explain the key philosophies and
background ideas to postmodernism
Including
Real and Unreal
Structuralism
Subjectivity and Objectivity
Antifoundationalism
The Real and Unreal
■ Philosophers start to question what
is “real” and “unreal” – what is
“reality”
■ For the Matrix fans, this is not quite
“There is no spoon” (though it
works)
■ Instead…
Hannah Montana vs Miley Cyrus
vs Whatever She is Now

Depending on when you started (and

stopped) paying attention to her, one of
these images of Miley Cyrus is the ‘real’
Miley while the others are simply
creations
The Real and Unreal (cont’d)
■ A question:
■ Is your Facebook or Twitter (or
Tumblr or Instagram or ______)
profile real? Why?
 Structuralism
■ Structuralists see language as
fallible or inaccurate because it is
based on signs referring to other
signs which are inexact
■ Language comes from humans, who
are not only inexact but also biased
(whether intentionally or not)
■ Given that humans use language to
convey Meaning, History and Truth,
we can say that all of this is
‘constructed’ or made by us as
representations of those things – but
not the actual things themselves
An Example
■ You see this picture and think
“dog” but why?
■ The answer according to this
philosophy would be because we
have assigned the sign “dog” to
this image, not “cat” or “goat” or
“log” or etc.
■ Conceivably, you could raise a
group of children, show them this
image and tell them “log” and to
them this image would forever be
“log” not “dog”
Subjectivity and
Objectivitity
■ Fancy way for talking about who
we are
■ Identity = Modernist Concept
■ Subject/Subjectivity = Post-Modern
 Objectivity (Modernism)
■ Core of an individual is stable
(exists on a foundation)
■ Changes occur from our individual
psychology
■ Self has a purpose from creation

Subjectivity (Postmodern)
■ Individual is always changing,
growing, developing
■ No core or foundation (initially)
■ Self develops a purpose
 Foundationalism /
Antifoundationalism

■ Postmodern thought centers around

the beliefs of Antifoundationalism (AF)
■ Big three Antifoundationalists:
◆ Nietzsche
◆ Foucault

◆ Hegel
Antifoundationalism
■ The belief that there is no
fundamental belief or principle
which is the basic ground or
foundation of inquiry and
knowledge.
■ The truth is only what can be
proven.
AF and Postmodernism
■ Classic postmodernism is not
typically entirely AF
■ Challenges any belief system that
claims universality/superiority as a
means of examining and possibly
incorporating them
Simplified example
■ The evolution of War in the eyes of
society via Hollywood
■ Pre-postmodernism the classic War film
portrays a heroic soldier valiantly
defending his country or its ideals
without fear or worry of death
■ Presumably because they accepted the
foundational belief of the nobility of
sacrificing oneself for one’s country
Cont’d
■ Today, War films tend to examine
war
■ War is now scary, scarring, bloody,
unhappy, confusing, etc.
◆ Hurt Locker
◆ Saving Private Ryan

◆ Platoon

◆ Full Metal Jacket

Questions:
1. What makes something real to you?
Why?
2. Is what you’re taught in history class
real? Is it true? Why or why not?
3. Do you see your own identity based on
larger concepts? If yes, which ones? If
not, what are the major influences in
your life that have made you the
subject you are today?