The article considers the issue of legal discourse evolution in the context of today’s civilization informatization in the postmodern era and intercultural dialogue which determines the understanding of fundamental judicial notions relative to the consciousness of an individual as a subject of legal and economic operations, as well as an implementer of social-economic and cultural rights. Given that the Internet environment in the 21st century is characterized by hypertextual discourse, this raises the matter of differentiation between objective and axiological (...) scientific knowledge contributing to a deeper understanding of the universe. The principles of further research in different scientific fields in the context of their social and socialization role in the information society are perceived as the coevolutionary basis of the informational civilization. Also noteworthy is the functional structural analysis of terms’ extraction from the symbolization of the language system, the prospective analysis of legal terms’ functioning, the study of their formal and semantic structure, the classification of legal sublanguage terms and the adjustment, unification and standardization of the term-based system. (shrink)

This book shows the vital relationship between human life and the philosophical placement of value, emphasizing the now-occurring transition from the old mechanical world view to the postmodern alternative inspired by ecology.

American Protestant Christianity is often described as a two-party system divided into liberals and conservatives. This book clarifies differences between the intellectual positions of these two groups by advancing the thesis that the philosophy of the modern period is largely responsible for the polarity of Protestant Christian thought. A second thesis is that the modern philosophical positions driving the division between liberals and conservatives have themselves been called into question. It therefore becomes opportune to ask how theology ought to be (...) done in a postmodern era, and to envision a rapprochement between theologians of the left and right. A concluding chapter speculates specifically on the era now dawning and the likelihood that the compulsion to separate the spectrum into two distinct camps will be precluded by the coexistence of a wide range of theological positions from left to right. Nancey C. Murphy is Associate Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, and the author of Reasoning and Rhetoric in Religion, also published by Trinity Press. Her book Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning earned the American Academy of Religion's Award for Excellence. (shrink)

This article presents a model of dissociative experience that includes a transpersonal perspective. The first aspect ofthe model focuses on whether an experience represents controlled flow, uncontrolled flow, controlled dissociation, or uncontrolled dissociation. The second aspect asks whether there are alterations in one's identification with the ego-self or whether one transcends the ego-self, making contact with a hypothetical All-Self. The third aspect of the model asks whether the experience is life-affirming or life-denying. The model is postmodern in that it (...) recognizes that these latter judgments are a matter of time, place, and power, as is the determination whether or not a dissociative experience is psychopathological. (shrink)

Brings together some of the most prominent and influential contemporary interpreters of Adorno's work in a wide-ranging collection of essays that explores Adorno's relation to themes and problems in postmodern thought.

This paper addresses the question of the relationship between creativity and autonomy - originally related to each other in the concept of the `self' as one of the crucial parts of the Meadian and symbolic interactionist heritage - and asks how we should construe this relation today. After a brief reconstruction of the history of the notions of `self' and `identity' the paper takes up the postmodern challenge of these notions by clarifying and partially revising them. It discusses the (...) three aspects of a possibly over-socialized conception of the person, the irreducibility of difference between socialized individuals and the role of power and exclusion in processes of identity formation. (shrink)

When it was published in France, this book shocked the philosophers of the Left Bank with its plain-speaking attack on some of France's greatest minds.

This volume brings together for the first time the highly influential essays, many of them classics, of one of the most prominent scholars in social philosophy and feminist theory. These essays provide a compelling view of many of the major trends in social theory over the past fifteen years—trends that Linda Nicholson herself helped to shape. The Play of Reason examines the legacies of modernity in contemporary political, social, and feminist thought and the unraveling of these legacies in postmodern (...) times. Linda Nicholson first focuses on the tension in modern social theory between attempts to recognize change and diversity and struggles to capture such change in overarching frameworks of meaning and value. She illuminates the consequences of these conflicting tendencies in relation to Marxism, feminist theory, and classical liberal accounts of the family and the state. Nicholson then asks how theory and the resolution of difference are possible after such overarching frameworks are abandoned. She shows how a pragmatic understanding of theory answers widespread fears about relativism. The Play of Reason is a powerful demonstration of a politically engaged social theory. (shrink)

In _The Political Economy of the Spectacle and Postmodern Caste_, John Asimakopoulos analyzes the political economy of the spectacle conceptualized by philosophers like Guy Debord through a broad interdisciplinary-nonsectarian approach concluding every society is a caste system legitimized by ideology.

In this stimulating work, Dr. Wong propounds Christian Wholism as a path to peace and joy as well as healing for our 'brokeness' and 'lostness' in the postmodern world. Wong discusses what it means to be whole in our spiritual, intellectual, physical, ethical, psychological, and other domains of our multidimensional personhood. Some practical suggestions are offered. He voices a hope in God's promise of a resurrected body as the gift of ultimate wholeness.

This is a detailed examination of the theological innovations of Kevin Vanhoozer and John Franke. Each proposes that doctrinal and systematic theology should be recast in the light of postmodernity. No longer can Christian theology be foundational, or have a stable metaphysical and epistemological framework. Vanhoozer advocates a theo-dramatic reconstruction of Christian doctrine, replacing the timeless propositions of the "purely cerebral theology" of the Reformed tradition in favor of a theology that does justice to the polyphony of multiple biblical genres. (...) Franke holds that theology is part of a three-way conversation between Scripture, tradition, and culture, with an uncertain outcome. This study shows that each of these proposals is based on misunderstanding and exaggeration, and that the case against foundationalism is unclear and unpersuasive. It is argued that Vanhoozer's appeal to revelation as divine speech-acts is not as radical as he thinks, and his epistemology is weak. In the hands of postmodernity, Christian theology abandons its exactness and the standards of care that are a notable feature of doctrinal constrictions. The book will be of importance to those with interest in Reformed theology or Christian theology more generally. It provides a clear assessment of the impact of the postmodern mindset on theology. (shrink)

Ako pojam identiteta shvatimo u hegelijanskom smislu kao iskustvo što ga svijest stječe o sebi, onda se taj pojam nameće kao ključan u razmatranju umjetnosti XX. stoljeća. Prema Hegelu, moderna umjetnost transcendira mogućnost adekvatnog izražavanja svoga duhovnog sadržaja pukom osjetilnom reprezentacijom te stoga zahtijeva pojmovnu refleksiju. Budući da je umjetnost uvijek i dio stvarnosti i o stvarnosti, propitivanje njezina vlastita pojma ide ruku pod ruku s ontološkom problematikom. Epistemološke promjene koje konstituiraju i modernu i postmodernu odražavaju se tako u dijalektici (...) pojma moderne i postmoderne umjetnosti. Prema nekim autorima ta je dijalektika određena značajnim promjenama u teoriji subjekta, kulturalnim razlikama i tehnologiji.If the notion of identity is considered in the Hegelian sense as the experience of the consciousness about itself, then this notion becomes of key importance in reflecting upon the 20th-century art. Modern art, in Hegel’s view, transcends the possibility of an adequate expression of its spiritual content by its merely sensuous representation and hence calls for a reflection on its notion. Since art has always been both part of and about reality, the questioning of its own notion goes hand in hand with the ontological problematics. The epistemological changes that constitute both Modernism and Postmodernism thus reflect themselves in the dialectics of the notion of modern and postmodern art. According to some authors, such dialectics is determined by important changes which took place in the theory of the subject, in cultural differences as well as in technology. (shrink)

Focusing on the concept of freedom, Leslie Paul Thiele makes Heidegger's philosophical works speak directly to politics in a postmodern world. Neither excusing Heidegger for his political sins nor ignoring their lesson, Thiele nonetheless refrains from polemic in order creatively to engage one of the greatest philosophers of our time. The product of this engagement is a vindication of a democratic and ecological politics firmly grounded in philosophic inquiry. Using Heidegger's understanding of freedom as a point of departure, Timely (...) Meditations lays out the philosophic and political nature and potential of freedom in thought, speech, and deed. This disclosive freedom is contrasted to both modern (positive and negative) and postmodern (Nietzschean and Foucaultian) variations. The result is an original and provocative study that challenges our present understanding of liberty while underlining dangerous collusion with the contemporary forces of technology. Timely Meditations marks an increasingly rare achievement today. For unlike many theorists who attempt to steer a course into the world of postmodern politics, Thiele does so without forsaking philosophic foundations and without abandoning practical hopes and tasks for rhetorical diversions. Originally published in 1995. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. (shrink)

This essay examines the response of Habermas and Giddens to postmodern criticisms of modernity. Although Giddens and Habermas recognize that the "totalizing critique" of poststructuralism lacks a convincing analysis of social interaction, neither of their perspectives adequately addresses the postmodern themes of aesthetics, play, and cultural memory. Giddens and Habermas believe that these dimensions of social life are important; yet they remain underdeveloped in their approaches. This essay explores the theoretical consequences of aesthetics, play, and cultural traditions for (...) social theory, drawing on the pragmatists, the psychoanalyst Winnicott, and early critical theory. The aesthetic and playful moments of experience must be recast in terms of social theory to avoid the solipsism so often characteristic of postmodernism. The essay ends by suggesting how the theories of Habermas and Giddens could benefit by a closer consideration of these issues. (shrink)

Starting with the Apollonian Greek theory of techne, Means Without End presents a history of transformations of ideas about technology, viewed within their broader philosophical, theological, and scientific contexts. Critically focusing on the ideological genealogy of technology without limits and finding its cultural roots in Christian theology, it details ideological developments in the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and 19th century which prepared the way for a theory of autonomous technology and for postmodern technoculture in the 20th century.

This work presents a new and important paradigm modification in psychology that attempts to incorporate ideas from quantum and postmodern culture. Quantum psychology is a psychology of consciousness and experience and is reflective of the entire process of being. Thus it is a holistic, dynamic, and synergistic model, designed to augment the classical model. It involves non-linear as well as linear models of description, with non-linearity having an association with intuitive and irrational thought. Quantum psychology represents an emergent system (...) of understanding a consciousness that has been exposed to the complex and accelerating effects of a postmodern culture. (shrink)

MORAL COMMITMENT OF THE REALISTIC, MODERNIST AND POSTMODERN NOVEL S u m m a r y The present paper discusses moral ideas expressed in the contemporary novel of the realistic, modernist and postmodern conventions. More precisely, it tries to define how the poetics of a given convention determines the novel’s ethical thought. It is argued that both the modernist and postmodern fiction, which are often perceived as amoral or relativist, are morally committed, though perhaps not as much (...) as the realistic convention. The shape of this moral commitment is consistent with the dominant of each convention (epistemological in modernism and ontological in postmodernism). These theoretical considerations are subsequently illustrated with three case studies of Virginia Woolf’s novels (each of which represents a different convention). Throughout the whole essay the emphasis falls on the meaning of the novelistic form, i.e. on the way that the novel’s form conveys the novel’s interpretation of reality. (shrink)

In _The Metaphysics of Media_, award-winning media critic Peter K. Fallon tackles the complicated question of how a succession of dominant forms of media have supported—and even to some extent created—different conceptions of reality. To do so, he starts with the basics: a critical discussion of the very idea of objective reality and the various postmodern responses that have tended to dominate recent philosophical approaches to the subject. From there, he embarks on a survey of the evolution of communication (...) through four major eras: orality; literacy; print; and electricity. Within each era, Fallon argues, the dominant form of media supported particular ways of understanding the world, from the ascendance of reason that followed the development of alphabets to the obliteration of space and time that we associate with electronic communications. Fallon concludes with a hard look at the mass ignorance that prevails today despite the sea of information with which contemporary life is surrounded. A stirring, philosophically rich investigation, _The Metaphysics of Media_ offers not only a clear picture of where our society has been but also a road map to a more engaged, informed, and fully human future. (shrink)

This essay attempts a paradigmatic comparison between the fourfold worldview of Hua-yen Buddhism and the postmodern philosophy of Jean-François Lyotard. Employing a tension between centripetal and centrifugal forces as a structural underpinning of these two philosophies, the essay illuminates the liberating nature of Hua-yen Buddhism and postmodern thought together with the shadow of skepticism involved in endorsing a vision for a poly-lingual existence. Despite human beings' desire for a totalitarian vision hidden in every aspect of our discourse, Hua-yen (...) Buddhism and postmodern thought demand us to envision the world of the 'inconceivable' in which the diversity of existence raises its own voice beyond the regulating force of our society. (shrink)

The past decade has seen the gradual emergence of what might be called a postmodern perspective on nursing research. However, the development of a coherent postmodern critique of the modernist position has been hampered by some misunderstandings and misrepresentations of postmodern epistemology by a number of writers, leading to a fractured and distorted view of postmodern nursing research. This paper seeks to distinguish between judgemental relativist and epistemic relativist or ironist positions, and regards the latter as (...) offering the most coherent critique of modernist/(post)positivist nursing research. The writings of poststructuralist philosophers, including Barthes, Lyotard, Derrida, Foucault and Rorty are examined, and a number of criteria for a postmodern ironist concept of research validity or trustworthiness are suggested. Whilst these writers reject the idea of Method as a guarantee of valid research, they nevertheless believe that value judgements can and must be made, and turn to notions of ironism, différance, and the differend. Ultimately, the postmodern ironist reader of the research report must make a judgement without criteria, based on her own practical wisdom or ‘prudence’. (shrink)

Every scientific or intellectual movement is founded upon basic assumptions and hypotheses that shape its specifically formulated philosophy. This study seeks to explore and explicate the basic philosophical underpinnings of grey systems theory, as well as the paradigm governing its postulates. The study, more specifically, scrutinizes the underlying principles of GST from the perspective of postmodern philosophy. To accomplish this, the epistemology, ontology, human nature, and methodology of GST are substantially investigated in the light of postmodern philosophy. The (...) study draws on Burrell and Morgan’s framework to reveal the paradigm underlying the philosophy of GST. Results demonstrate that GST is an anti-realistic, anti-positivistic, and non-deterministic theory which is inherently pluralistic and ideographic. Based on the principles of GST, change is an indispensable dimension of human speculation about the world and systems, and knowledge is ceaselessly reproduced as new information is collected. As a result, knowledge, narratives, theories and scientific laws are dynamically changed. GST, then, is remarkably compatible with the foundations of postmodern thought and it could be regarded as a postmodern theory governed by a humanistic paradigm. (shrink)

This book is designed to trace the critical history of the postmodern paradigm.

The aim of this paper has been to contribute to the ongoing discourse on skill, know-how, and expertise in the sporting world by posting an alternative view, one that explores the meaningfulness of difference from the outlook of difference. Hence, my ambition was to put focus on how we look at difference in the sporting world and, subsequently, to set the stage for expanding the analytical framework we use in exploring sports today. Essentially, my argument is based on an assumption (...) that the prevailing paradigm of sports is constructed and continuously redeveloped on the grand narrative of modernity emphasizing sameness over difference, and consequently, leaving sportification as its evolutionary footprint. Accordingly, in pursuit of an alternative, I have utilized a postmodern outlook with emphasis on emancipation, deconstruction, vocabulary, dialog, diversity, and aesthetics as the analytical framework in constructing a narrative of difference, rather than sameness. More so, as to frame the argu... (shrink)

Our research involves the study of vocational education in the context of postmodern trends in society. We analyzed how postmodern manifestations of the 21st century have affected vocational education standards. The main theoretical and methodological approaches to the formation of postmodernism and the process of formation of standards of vocational education were studied. Based on the results of the research, the main approach to the basics and basic trends in the formation of standards of vocational education was established. (...) Education as a process is relevant throughout historical development, because everyone understands his importance in society, realizes his responsibility to him since the early days of man needs new knowledge to continue living. The formation of the process of professional education itself begins several centuries ago, which confirms the maturation of man in social development. The period of postmodernism in the educational process is marked by globalization and the integration of society. This trend requires continuous professional growth. The worker in the conditions of postmodernism must be able to quickly change their skills, adapt to new challenges that may constantly evolve due to the rapid development of information technology. In the course of our research the integration method of synthesis of figurative structure, and the analysis, the characteristic of pedagogical activity at the formation of professional education is used. There are methods of synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of postmodernism in educational development. The results of the research confirm the postmodern trends in the formation of vocational education. (shrink)

"This book is based on new work relating gendered assumptions about rationality to men's mental health. It offers the reader a theoretical exploration of a topically and politically sensitive issue and provides a valuable critique of postmodern theory and theorists. It is relevant to practitioners and activists in the mental health field, will be of interest to profeminist theorists, and is essential reading for academics and students of sociology and allied disciplines."--Jacket.

Everyone agrees that the Enlightenment hasn’t succeeded—in that the critical rationality associated with modern natural science has not been extended to society at large (and may even have retreated from science itself). Should we be relieved or disappointed that the Enlightenment has failed? I am disappointed but not discouraged by what is called the postmodern condition. But to move forward, we cannot simply deny the presence of the condition, as if it were the collective hallucination of weak minds. This (...) is what Dennett does. I fear that he is in denial rather than disappointment. Only when we are clear about the ideals that we want to promote can we see our way through the postmodern condition. (shrink)

In today's conditions of postmodern space the most significant resource of the modern economy, which is being formed in the leading countries of economic development, is human capital. The main goal of the article is to study the process of managing the formation of human capital in the functioning postmodern society as the basis of the national economy and ensuring the economic security of the enterprise. The basic components of human capital are determined on the basis of the (...) analysis. It is established that the basic component is knowledge that affects others and in postmodern conditions of development of the national economy and determines the process of development of human capital. At the same time, the process of forming knowledge, in accordance with the principles of the functioning of the knowledge economy, is associated with the availability and possibility of obtaining information. The object of study is the enterprises of Eastern Europe. The subject of the study is human capital, the economic security system of the enterprise The results of the study allowed us to develop a model for the formation of human capital and to form a mechanism for ensuring the economic security of the enterprise through management of the formation of human capital under the conditions of the postmodern society. (shrink)

The integration of postmodern thinking in the sciences, especially in biology, has been subject to harsh criticism. Contrary to Enlightenment ideals of objectivity and neutrality in the scientific method, the postmodern stance holds that truth is relative, not universal, and therefore progress is ambiguous. The effect of postmodern thought has ramifications that extend from the distrust of preexisting scientific conclusions to questions about the impact of progress in society. It also reflects skepticism about the scientific endeavor. Especially (...) when postmodern ideas are considered to have gained traction, the anti-postmodern critique has become harsher. At stake is whether postmodern notions are indeed irrelevant, and—even more important—whether they compromise scientific progress. The conditional significance of universals in biology and the role of historicity in the evolutionary process makes biology different from the other natural sciences and subjects it to the postmodern critique. This article argues that rather than being viewed as a science that seeks universals, biology should be viewed as a construct, more relevant to a technology, aiming to attain functionalities. Such recognition may fuel progress and assist biology in attaining its ultimate goal, which is to address the most intricate questions about the living world. (shrink)

Purpose. Based on the study of philosophical anthropological concepts, to highlight the project of personality in different historical periods, to reveal the meaning of humanistic issues in the postmodern epoch, to identify the essential features of the image of human of the second half of the XX the beginning of the XXI century. Theoretical basis. The methodological basis of the article is the principles of historicism, integrity, objectivity regarding the mastery of the issue of person’s image in postmodernism. The (...) research applied comparative-historical, culturological, analytical, axiological approaches to reveal the problem of individuality in the second half of the XX the beginning of the XXI century. The theoretical basis of the article consists of scientific works in the field of philosophical anthropology, history, cultural studies, and aesthetics. Originality. The author revealed the peculiarities of transformation of the personality model from antiquity to postmodernism, specified the image of man of the second half of the XX the beginning of the XXI century. Conclusions. The analysis of anthropological ideas of Western philosophy of different ages shows the variety of views about understanding the nature of the person, its complexity and ambiguity. In the epoch of postmodernism humanistic issues are of particular relevance, which is connected with social and political uncertainty, domination of mass consciousness, loss of national and cultural identity. The image of a person of this period is deprived of a solid foundation, it is blurred and relative. The destruction of faith in the absolute in the context of the second half of the twentieth century contributed to the formation of confidence in the interdependence of all things, raised the problem of the personality image to a new ontological level. Orientation in the achievements of European civilization, perception of its anthropological experience, intercultural dialogue contribute to the productive use of the achievements of mankind in order to understand the modern person and to form its adequate image. In its essence, postmodernism does not set the goal to realize a retrospection of subject type. However, separating from the cultural memory the excerpts of ideas about a person, by certain styles and directions, it builds on their formations its own eclectic image of the individual. (shrink)

In a wide-ranging study, Josh Cohen argues that the American fixation with image - literally celebrating the surface, the visual, the spectacular spaces of the cinema and the city - has produced a crisis of literary perception, with crucial cultural and political consequences.