On the Third Metaphysics: A Constructive Postmodernist Philosophical Study

Author: Wu Weifu
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-03-01
Features: According to the archaeological exploration of the concept of "postmodernism" by scholars from China and abroad, the earliest user of the term "postmodernism" was the British painter John Watins Chapman. He used the term "postmodern painting" to refer to those works of art that were allegedly more modern and avant-garde than French Impressionist painting. However, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that postmodernism began to move from its narrow fields of literature and art into various aspects of society. Philosophical postmodernism also emerged at this time. The key figure in laying an important foundation for the formal entry of postmodernism into the philosophical forum was the French philosopher Lyotard. In 1979, Lyotard officially published the book The Postmodern Condition. This book not only played a very important role in the spread and diffusion of postmodernism on the European continent but also identified postmodernism with knowledge critique and anti-foundationalism. Following this, the major philosophical debates initiated by figures such as Foucault, Habermas, and Lyotard in the early 1980s on "What is Enlightenment?" and the relationship between "modernity" and "postmodernism" led postmodernist philosophy deeper, forming a concept of postmodernism in philosophy that was closely tied to modernity critique and full of tension.
A review of the usage of the term "postmodern" reveals that the "post" in postmodernism manipulated by postmodernists has a dual meaning, actually reflecting two different attitudes toward "modernity." First, it means "not-modern," equivalent to "Not-modern" in English, and signifies a complete break from modern theories, cultural practices, ideologies, and artistic styles. Therefore, "post" can be positively understood as actively breaking away from the previous and liberating oneself from old limitations and oppressive conditions to enter new realms; at the same time, it can be negatively understood as the loss of traditional values, certainty, and stability. Second, it means "most-modern," meaning dependent on modernity, as a continuation and intensification of modernity (according to Habermas). As Douglas Kellner and Steven Best put it: "Postmodernism is merely a new face and development of modernism." Or, it is an "internal postmodern" development within modernity.
Although the above analysis can be made of the concept of "postmodernism," from the perspective of constructive postmodernist philosophers, the term "postmodern" is still used in many ambiguous and even contradictory ways in practice. Even within the field of philosophy, the term "postmodern" represents two entirely different standpoints. To clearly articulate his own stance, David Griffin conducted a detailed analysis and comparison of the two very different types of postmodernism in philosophy and concluded that their postmodernist philosophy was the true postmodern philosophy. Griffin argues that there are now at least two very different philosophies in the field of philosophy that are called "postmodernism." One type focuses on the negative (deconstructive), which he calls "deconstructive postmodernism" or "eliminative postmodernism." The other type, while also doing a lot of negative work, is characterized as constructive (reconstructive). (Therefore, he calls himself a constructive postmodernist.