doiSerbia

Fashion, camouflage and continuity: The unmasking of postmodernism through apology of the enlightenment

Krstić Predrag (Institut za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju, Beograd)

It could be said that, in general, Postmodernism represented a special inspiration for reaffirmation of the Enlightenment, and that the Enlightenment revised in response to this challenge. Defenders of the Enlightenment in the procedure used different strategies but, except for the occasional lump rejection and distorts, they all shared conviction that the theory of Postmodernism misrepresented itself. In their reconstruction of the position of Postmodernism, one shows that it comes to inherit the oldest traditions of the Counterenlightenment and the irresponsible relativist thinking. Another time it is emphasized the unfounded sheltering of the theory of Postmodernism behind the counterfeit principle of the Enlightenment or, even less based, boastfully as well as illusory breaking with Modernity. The third approach entered Postmodernism in the tradition of „with itself quarreling Modernism” by the very effort to go beyond it; in the tradition of the Enlightenment and its relentless criticism as an integral part of the same endeavor. It is concluded that none of the apology of the Enlightenment, to its own detriment, succeded to consistently incorporate cutting edge of postmodern objections and, under duress to defend and profiled its own orthodox point of view, by its psychosocial neutralization violates the critical potential of the Enlightenment.

Keywords: enlightenment, postmodernism, modernity, criticism, counterenlightenment, continuity