Abstract

The most radical and influential expression of the contemporary critique of reason exists in the form of postmodernism. Even some of its detractors agree that postmodernism's strength lies in its critical potential. However, it must be asked whether the same tools which provide the power of its demystifying gaze serve to undermine postmodernism's capacity to make claims about justice, politics or ethics. In this analysis I examine postmodern discourse from several angles. For the purposes of intellectual organization, I have divided the subject into Right and Left postmodernism. These categories correspond to traditional political classifications: the Right is marked by the concern for order, the Left by the desire for freedom. ;I have chosen Allan Bloom as an example of Right postmodernism and I examine his thought in the chapter 1. In chapter 2, 1 analyze the work of a Left postmodern thinker, Michel Foucault. In the third chapter, I turn to the case of feminism, and explore its uneasy relationship with postmodernism. The objective of the analysis is to assess the contributions and limitations of postmodern thought in several of its forms. I attempt to determine whether the arguments in question are viable or whether this present manifestation of the critique of reason is paradoxically crippled by its rejection of principles which provide the very conditions of its possibility. ;In my conclusion I offer an appraisal of postmodernism in terms of its tenability as a philosophical position, its capacity for critique, and its political manifestations. In the course of the analysis I consider the category of the universal, which has been dismissed by current intellectual fashions as a hegemonic prejudice. What are the costs of abandoning universalism, foundations and other Enlightenment ideals? What are the implications of a critical paradigm that does so? What, if any, are the benefits? The fact that postmodern thought continues to be in high vogue in the academy underscores the importance of these questions and serves as the background of my enquiry