5 authors of POSTMODERN philosophy

Jean-François Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard and Richard Rorty are the most prominent authors of postmodern philosophy. In a Teacher we tell you.

Do you know what is the current that profoundly influenced the transformation of the world of the 20th century? Although in the 21st century we are experiencing a very profound change in the world of Philosophy, the postmodern philosophy, triumphant at the end of the 20th century, continues to be behind current movements such as feminism, the LGTBI movement, animalism or subjectivism, among others. At present, postmodern philosophy, eminently anti-realist, is losing strength before the realism defended by the new philosophical currents.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we tell you in detail who are the authors of postmodern philosophy highlights and review the basic characteristics of postmodernity.

Although there is not a definitive list of postmodern philosophers There are several authors who have contributed to the development of postmodern philosophy. Among them we can highlight the following.

Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998)

This French philosopher, sociologist, and literary theorist is considered one of the leading theorists of postmodernity. His most popular work is "The Postmodern Condition." According to Lyotard's theory, the objects created by science and technology place nature under the domination of humanity. As a consequence of this, modernity disappears since this change has not brought society more freedom or education or more wealth, nor an equitable distribution of it.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

This French philosopher whose work focuses on power and power relations in society. His works have been fundamental to the development of postmodern theory. According to Foucault, all knowledge implies power and all power implies knowledge. Thus, in all discourse we can find the trace of power relations.

Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007)

Baudrillard is another of the most prominent authors of postmodern philosophy. This French philosopher and sociologist focused on the study of concepts such as hyperreality, consumer society and simulacrum.

Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)

Derrida is known for being the father of the current of deconstructivism. Derrida questions in it the idea of ​​an absolute truth and analyzes the structures of language and interpretation.

Richard Rorty (1931-2007)

Richard Rorty is the last of this list of authors of postmodern philosophy. He considers philosophy as a theory of knowledge based on representation, without claiming to approach it as if it were a science in the strict sense, just like the positivists or the philosophers analytical. According to his thought, philosophy would have to be pragmatic and anti-foundationalist.

Behind the idealism and the positivism, philosophy fell into a crisis from which it is still trying to get out. A crisis from which movements such as postmodern philosophy have emerged. A current fruit of all the anti-realisms that have predominated in thought throughout the 20th century and especially since the middle and end of it.

The main characteristics of postmodern philosophy are:

• Postmodern philosophers reject modernity
• They also question the existence of absolute truths.
• Nor do they believe in linear progress.
• They do not accept the idea of ​​a stable and unified subject or identity.
• The narratives and metanarratives that try to explain and make sense of the world (science, religion or traditional philosophy itself) are neither credible nor valid.
• The perspectives to be used to seek an explanation of reality must be diverse, multiple, and always taking into account the social, cultural, and historical context in which they arise.
• Language becomes one of the central themes of postmodern philosophy, being relevant and active in the construction of meanings, being something more than a reflection of reality.
• They practice the deconstruction of reality, denying objectivity. For postmodernists, all realities are manipulable and pure subjectivity. Thus, deconstruction, Jacques Derrida's technique, was used by postmodernists to reveal and dismantle all the assumptions and contradictions of language and discourse.
• It was an attempt to give importance to difference, to alterity, recognizing those voices considered marginalized or alternative.