Praise for Explaining Postmodernism
S
tephen Hicks has written an insightful and biting commentary on the nature of postmodernism and its revolt against the Enlightenment. He situates the movement in a larger historical context and analyzes its cultural and political implications. Even when one disagrees with Hicks’s interpretations, his work will challenge and provoke. This is must-reading for anyone interested in philosophy-by-essentials.—Chris Matthew Sciabarra, Department of Politics, New York University
E
xplaining Postmodernism is extremely valuable for understanding post-modernism from a standpoint outside of and critical of it. Perhaps the most important value of the work is Professor Hicks’s analytical skill in isolating the essential theses of postmodern writers, in summarizing the historical background, and in tracing the lines of development that led to postmodernism. In addition to clear expositions of Hegel, Heidegger, and other thinkers, the book has what I think is a brilliant analysis of the pathways by which skeptical questions that Enlightenment thinkers asked led to the nihilism of Derrida and Foucault.—David Kelley, Executive Director, The Objectivist Center
E
xplaining Postmodernism offers a concise and convincing argument that post-modernism is not primarily about epistemology. If postmodernism were about science as “hegemonic discourse,” then postmodernists would endorse any political viewpoint that tickled their subjectivities. Yet every postmodernist is on the Left politically. Hicks concludes that relativism is not what motivates postmodern thought-but is a device that postmodernists have adopted for strategic purposes. Explaining Postmodernism will be of value to anyone who seeks to understand where postmodernism originated, what impulses motivate it, and how it can be challenged.—Robert Campbell, Department of Psychology, Clemson University
