Ed Knudson wrote:
> I think postmodernism is disliked by many because it undercuts the whole
> idea of "control" which is such a high modernist value. The modernist
> impulse is to control, control ideas, other people, life, nature, future,
> etc. It is the worst possible thing to be "out of control." I believe there
> is alot of literal "grief" among folks today over loss of a whole era in
> which people actually believed they could be in control. It makes us feel
> unbalanced, uncertain, even panicked, all feelings we have been taught are
> somehow terrible.
I am not sure that modernism is characterized by the attempt to
maintain "control." My understanding of modernity, which is based on the
works of Marx and Weber, is that modernity is equally about "alienation."
Could you please clarify why you believe there is a modernist impulse to
control?
> Postmodernism is defined more by what it is not than what it
> is, it is after modernism but otherwise the field is wide open, which is
> what attracts me to it. It is the opposite of totalistic philosophies. Ed K.
What do you mean by "totalistic philosophies"?
Sincerely,
Vikash
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Vikash Yadav
vyadan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
vikash1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~vyadan/
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