Οι αυταπάτες της μετανεωτερικότητας

by Terry Eagleton, Γιώργος Σπανός (Translator), Αριάδνη Αλαβάνου (Editor)

Σε αυτό το εξαίρετο κριτικό δοκίμιο, ο Τέρυ Ίγκλετον διερευνά τις απαρχές, τις αμφισημίες, την ιστορία, τα θέματα, τα λάθη και τις αντιφάσεις της μετανεωτερικότητας. Καθώς το βιβλίο δεν πραγματεύεται τις εξεζητημένες διατυπώσεις της μεταμοντέρνας φιλοσοφίας αλλά την κουλτούρα, το περιβάλλον και την ευαισθησία της μετανεωτερικότητας ως όλου, προορίζεται κυρίως για όσους μελετούν ή καταναλώνουν τα "λαϊκά" προϊόντα της μεταμοντέρνας σκέψης.
Παρόλο που ο καθηγητής Ίγκλετον θεωρεί ότι σε γενικές γραμμές ο μεταμοντερνισμός είναι ένα αρνητικό ρεύμα, εστιάζει το ενδιαφέρον του τόσο στα προτερήματα όσο και στις αδυναμίες του. Δεν προσπαθεί μόνο να αποκαλύψει την απατηλή φύση των μεταμοντέρνων αντιλήψεων, αλλά και να καταδείξει με βάσιμα επιχειρήματα ότι αυτοί που ασπάζονται τις αρχές της μετανεωτερικότητας ποτέ δεν πίστεψαν σε όσα νόμιζαν ότι πιστεύουν. Η καταλυτική ειρωνεία και το σατιρικό αφηγηματικό του στυλ μεγεθύνουν την απόλαυση του αναγνώστη, ενώ η προσήλωση του στην ηθική και στο όραμα μιας δίκαιης κοινωνίας παρακινούν τον αναγνώστη να πάρει θέση και να απαρνηθεί το θελκτικό χάος που είναι ο σημερινός κόσμος.

Genres: Philosophy, Theory, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Criticism, Cultural, Cultural Studies

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Widely regarded as England's most influential living literary critic & theorist, Dr. Terry Eagleton currently serves as Distinguished Professor of English Literature at the University of Lancaster and as Visiting Professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He was Thomas Warton Prof. of English Literature at the University of Oxford ('92-01) & John Edward Taylor Professor of English Literature at the University of Manchester 'til '08. He returned to the University of Notre Dame in the Autumn '09 semester as Distinguished Visitor in the English Department.

He's written over 40 books, including Literary Theory: An Introduction ('83); The Ideology of the Aesthetic ('90) & The Illusions of Postmodernism ('96).
He delivered Yale's '08 Terry Lectures and gave a Gifford Lecture in 3/10, titled The God Debate.

Reviews

[Seth Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eagleton is normally an interesting scholar but in this case, he ultimately fails. His goal appears to be twofold: 1) to undercut all notions of the postmodern as foolish and/or untenable and 2) to promote Marxism as a superior viewpoint. His key idea seems to revolve around a belief that postmodernism is overly nihilistic and its adherents are pessimists who overlook the obvious.

In attempting to pull off his argument Eagleton often reduces arguments to an oversimplification, rarely citing anything or anyone specific as making any of the arguments he rejects, favoring straw-men. "Postmoderists say this" and "Postmodernists say that."

While arguments against postmodernism can be made (as against any other ethos), Eagleton's comes off as lazy and suffers from his apparent unwillingness to address any real postmodernists, preferring an invented, hyperbolic one.

[Yonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Eagleton, though at times here he is somewhat less than careful. He straw-mans the versions of postmodernism he attacks, and requires an unfair consistency among the multiplicity of texts that collectively represent postmodern theory. Still, on the whole he is right about postmodern theory and its problems, and I was especially influenced by his discussion of political ideology as connected to pomotheory. Overall, it's also absolutely refreshing to read an ardent, intelligent socialist who takes his ideas seriously both on the plane of political action and in the realm of theory. Spot on.

[Cool_guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of fiction lately so I thought it would be nice to ruin it with cultural theory

[Robert Tessmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Eagleton takes no prisoners in this thorough albeit short critique on the theories of postmodernism. Focus is placed on postmodernism's general theories in relation to philosophy and political theory as opposed to postmodernism's contribution in the arts and architecture. This, in fact, could well be the subject of an entirely new book, however, aesthetics, in this case, is not Eagleton's main concern.

It probably should be stressed that a general knowledge of philosophy, postmodern theory and political science would be advantageous before cracking this text, however, someone with only a slight awareness of these subjects could push through the book (dictionary in hand) without too much difficulty.

By definition, post modernism is hard to define, as it claims no foundational tenets: it is more a method or perspective against established ideas in philosophy. As Eagleton writes, "It is animated by the critical spirit, and rarely brings to bear upon its own propositions." (P.26)

From a socio-political standpoint, postmodern theories are part of a culture of "unmaking". It can be characterized as a rejection of all "metanarratives" or "grandnarratives"; a protest of modernisms inclusion into the established order of the `canon', a snubbing of intellectual elites, a blurring between high and low art, where Bart Simpson sits comfortably with Shakespeare. I would characterize it as a cynical "anti" position on just about any idea that claims validity or application in society. The key principles of all postmodern theories include: "...decreation, disintergration, deconstruction, decentrement, displacement, difference, discontinuity, disappearance, demoralization and delegitimation." (Post Modern Theory, Best, Kellner, 1991)

In one respect, Eagleton applauds postmodernism's huge body of work over a short time, and its stubborn demystification of natural institutions and conventions, though, criticises its blatant lack of self-criticism and ability to offer any alternatives after its deconstruction of all other theories. There is a certain feeling of excitement and freedom after reading such postmodern luminaries as Derrida, Lyotard or Kristiva, but after wading through their dense and at times "cult-like" prose, one is left with the feeling of utter nihilism, realising that these theories are empty rhetoric, that over three thousand years of human progress was all a lie, a "grand-narrative" to keep us chained.

For the most part Eagleton criticises postmodern theory against the theories of Marxism and socialism, and does a remarkable job revealing postmodernism's na?ve, almost adolescent view of the present world situation. As a Christian, I was able to look at the arguments from a third point of view and had a running dialog with the author, wishing I could interject another,(I my mind, better) point of view.

He concludes that postmodern end-of-history thinking gives us no future other than the present. That there are many possible futures, including fascism: how would postmodern theory shape to such a future? In my opinion, not too well.

This book is a valid discussion and a persuasive argument on the many pitfalls of postmodern theory.

Most of this review was taken from the "CHRISTIAN CONNECTION" review of Eagleton's book.

[Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Con una constante ironía y elocuencia, mezclado con un profundo conocimientos en los temas que trata, Eagleton logra exponer y criticar desde sus fundamentos el llamado pensamiento posmoderno. Como buen Marxista, no lo hace con una intención intelectual cuasi hedonista (como los autores posmo), sino como una respuesta política a un planteamiento filosófico.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that the title could more accurately read The Illusions of Popular Conceptions of Postmodernism. It's pretty funny and I admire Eagleton's approach to the matter: he reveals that things are much more complicated than the commonplace conception leads us to think.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needs expertise to understand. Informative nonetheless.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this slim, but erudite work, a patchwork of essays and articles that Terry Eagleton had published elsewhere, the author takes aim at popular strands of postmodernism in hilarious (oftentimes laugh-out-loud) fashion. Coming of age really since the 1970s, the influence of postmodernism has grown since, with overemphasis on difference and identity politics, lack of grounded ethics and morality and notions of truth, and a general distrust of anything that even remotely suggests universality. Eagleton is quick to point out the flaws, contradictions and fallacies inherent in postmodern theory, sometimes a bit too broadly and dismissively, but never without some justification or wit.

First published in 1996, this work today -- in the hyper-identity focused beginnings of the 21st century, in the age of Trump and fake news, with the rise of the far right in Europe and America, in an era when reason and universality seem to mean so very little -- is perhaps more relevant than ever. A monster of sorts, postmodernism has in many ways been embraced by late stage capitalism (and economic and cultural neoliberalism), less a threat than socialism ever was to the system, and it has (as Eagleton points out) both radical and conservative undercurrents that make it ultimately "the end part of the problem rather than of the solution."

There is certainly an appeal here for students of philosophy and traditional "Marxists" and socialists, though as Eagleton points out, conservatives are also like to find merit in some of his arguments, but for entirely the wrong reasons. While postmodernism may not be entirely responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today, reading Eagleton in 2018 may help us put the political and cultural calamity of the day into perspective.

Postmodernism in a philosophical sense may have arisen from the dust of the radical movements of the 1960s, may have blossomed with the failure of so-called "socialism" in Eastern Europe and Asia, with continued disillusion with Reason following the tragedies of the Second World War, but will the early 21st century show this new darling of leftist theorists just as flawed if not more so than the theories of the left that its adherents sought to displace? While I sympathize with some postmodern ideas, I cannot deny that Eagleton makes a very compelling case and gives readers much to consider.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining Marxist attack ('critique' would be overstating it) on postmodernism in which Eagleton displays a talent for rhetorical flourishes and hilarious use of the reductio ad absurdum, but rather less of a talent for accurately characterising or analysing his opponent's positions. Good fun, somewhat counter-intuitively given the subject matter.

[Hamad Abdulsamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eagleton raised a great deal of issues related to postmodernism, my only conservation here is that he doesn't really discuss postmodernists as much as he does with what he sets as their notions which, in this case, he's the one who reveals.

[Aaron Kleinheksel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a circa 1996 critique from the left of Postmodernism (hereafter PM) as a philosophy.

The vintage is important, as the author blames some of the development of PM as a reaction to the apparent total victory of capital over the socialism he favors. This reaction has encouraged dispirited socialist intellectuals to replace real questions of economics & materialism with issues surrounding identity ( gender, sexuality, ethnicity). In this the author would mostly be in agreement with critics from the right. Eagleton makes the observation that in fact these identitarian issues are actually supported by Capital due to their utility as a distraction.

Eagleton, to his credit, fillets (e.g. pg. 28) the overarching hypocrisy endemic to PM throughout this short book. Fallacies of hierarchies, essentialism, teleology, & metanarratives/histories are all dealt with in their turn, as is the foolish unworkability of cultural relativism.

I appreciated the author's discussion of grand narratives and human development, including this quote from Theodor Adorno: "No universal history leads from savagery to humanitarianism, but there is one leading from the slingshot to the megaton bomb... the One and All that keeps rolling on to this day - with occasional breathing spells - would teleologically be the absolute of suffering." He gives a nod to Christianity in this section when he admits that Christians don't have any problems with this issue thanks to the doctrine of original sin and the inherent wickedness of man. There is this gem from pg. 110: "Socialism holds to a sort of metanarrative, but it is by no means the kind of bedtime story one would recount to a child given to nightmares." Eagleton errs (from 1996) in stating that nobody (w/ any intellectual ability) really ascribes to grand narratives anymore. This is comical after being subjected to Barack Obama in 2008 and so many on the political left since then confidently reminding us all that "the arc of history is long but bends toward justice." What a joke. Humans love grand narratives, and will never abandon them, no matter how demonstrably ignorant they may be.

There is an interesting critique of the tension for pursuit of happiness in PM vis-à-vis autonomy vs. communitarianism / socialism (demands on participation in the group). Eagleton is not w/out a rather sharp wit: "One of the best reasons for being a socialist is that one is averse to doing too much work." (pg. 83) He is quite comfortable making fun of his own views while leisurely disemboweling his opponents. Eagleton explains how Classical liberals held the inevitable course of their own philosophy in check for many years (I would argue through the hangover of inherited Christian values - and I think Eagleton would agree) and did much good, but that the internal logic of it has now arrived and the result is its own failure. That can be very clearly seen 26 years later as we look around the West.

You might wonder why, if the author did such a good job slicing up PM, he earns just 2 stars? Well, it is largely because reading this book was more of a chore than it should have been. Eagleton is recklessly and tiresomely verbose. His command of vocabulary is impressive and unnecessary for a book that really should have much wider reach. I wonder how many have enthusiastically started this book only to set it down in frustration. Too much work Terry. 2 stars.

I would instead direct an interested reader to this recent article, which is far shorter: https://americanmind.org/salvo/truth-...

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Eagleton writes about "postmodernism" like a grumpy old man who both brutally strawmans postmodern/poststructualist thought while still somehow delivering very good critiques of what people understand "postmodernism" to be. As someone else said in a review of this book, the title should be "Illusions of Common Understandings of Postmodernism" or something similar. It's a book I'd maybe give to some annoying grad students I know to explain why I find their politics to be absolutely dogshit, because I see the stuff that Eagleton attacks all the time still!!!!!

I do think he's also still pretty generous in terms of giving postmodern theory credit where it's due, so I appreciate that. This book is just a good reminder that sometimes we just need to take a step back from pure negativity and paranoia around certain notions like "universality" and just figure shit out.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Eagleton has a definite tone. Sass-master.

[Mohammed · Rating 5 out of 5]

من أروع اكتب في نقد ما بعد الحداثة وأفكارها بشكل موضوعي وساخر في نفس الوقت

[Yukinosita Yukino · Rating 4 out of 5]

One wonders how much postmodernist junk old Terry must have consumed in order to fire hundreds, though scattered and disorganised, but nevertheless brisk, lucid and highly persuasive shots at the dominant intellectual fashion of our time. Humorous and elegant, he's a great stylist as always, though in this book one feels sometimes he lets his pen too loose, going on frequent tangents in various otherwise excellent arguments. It would also greatly enhance his case if he could quote more actual lines from the postmodern texts, which given his accuracy of depictions, I'm sure there would be ample sources, and it's such a shame that he did not, because now he appears to be firing ammunition into a straw-man even though most of what he says are indeed correct.

Let me prove this with a personal anecdote. Consider, for example, one of the best paragraphs he wrote:

"History, for such a theory, becomes an endless repetition of the same errors, which – to caricature the case a little – were finally put triumphantly to rights when Jacques Derrida arrived belatedly on the scene to mop up a set of metaphysical blunders which stretch back at least as far as Plato, and quite probably to Adam. As Peter Osborne has pointed out, 'the narrative of the death of metanarrative is itself grander than most of the narratives it would consign to oblivion'. Postmodern culture is much taken with change, mobility, open-endedness, instability, while some of its theory flattens everything from Socrates to Sartre to the same tedious saga. A supposedly homogenizing Western history is violently homogenized." (p.34)

This claim, postmodern itself as the ultimate meta-narrative, is persuasive and even evident if one thinks about it, and that's the kind of argument Terry packs full into this book. I've confirmed this personally with Simon Critchley (Derrida scholar and philosopher himself), and he absolutely agrees! That might gives a glimpse on the quality of his points. Recommended for all who seek to understand postmodernism and why, despite its achievements (which Terry recognises), ultimately, it cannot stand on its own as a sufficient solution.

[Marc Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Definitely don’t come to it expecting a deep engagement with postmodern thinkers. As Eagleton notes, the movement was so heterogeneous that it would be impossible to say something about one thinker that wasn’t contradicted by another. Instead, he engages a popular mode of thinking that can be called “postmodernism.” Though it certainly derives from figures like Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, etc., this mode of thought is more of a vulgarization of these thinkers in my estimation. But it has certainly seeped into popular culture and academic culture, so Eagleton can be forgiven for some of the strawmanning he does in this book. It’s an argument for socialism and Marxism instead of postmodernism that I wish I had read long ago, since it would have drawn me into radical politics much earlier.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main focus of Illusions is to compare postmodernism to socialism, rather than focusing on postmodernism in and of itself. I'm not sure it convinced me of anything, but it was really clever and acerbic and a pleasure to read.

[Patrick Diego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na maior parte das vezes, parece que o Eagleton só ataca espantalhos. Em outros momentos, ele até parece mais pós-moderno do que os pós-modernistas que ele critica. Achei meio confuso das ideias. Mas os comentários sobre a apatia política desmobilizadora da pós-modernidade são interessantes.

[Yaser Maadat · Rating 4 out of 5]

نقد هام لما بعد الحداثة يقدمه تيري ايغلتون بأسلوبه الادبي الشيق المعتاد.

[Özay Meerkatthered · Rating 3 out of 5]

Varoluşçu çizgiye çok bağlı kalmış, Heinz Hans Holz eleştirisi kadar iyi değil. Ama aradaki çizgileri net çizmiş, analitiği iyi...

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes when I finish a book, I feel disappointed, sometimes I feel motivated, sometime I feel yearning for more: this time I felt the sense of relieved triumph that a shattered triathlete feels as staggering across the finish-line.

Always intellectually pugnacious, Eagleton masterfully deconstructs the pomposity and arrogance of postmodernism addressing the void at the heart of this most fashionable intellectual trend. Witty, intelligent and slightly fond of showing his learning, eagleton argues against the profound relativity and irrelevance of much postmodern thought. he defends socialism form fashion and explains why it is not the drab, ahistoric dogma of myth.

prepare for an exhilarating intellectual tek but pack a dictionary

[Michael Barros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent work, accessible style.

I’m a bit biased because I tend to love writing and speech that seems to effortlessly weave together complex subjects and persons in a smooth, dense way.

For example, don’t be shocked to find pragmatism, Foucalt, Derrida, and essentialism all within the same paragraph. But, that paragraph will be engaging and compelling.

Great stuff. Really let the postmodern philosophers have it.

By the time you finish, you’ll be cutting off the “Lyo” whenever you talk about Lyotard.

[valiantdust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best treatment of postmodern thinking, published in 1996 at the height of the Science Wars. Eagleton is very fair in his criticisms, most of which he makes from the vantage of liberalism and (no surprise) Marxism. Again, anyone seriously interested in learning about the history of PoMo and the Science Wars has to read this book alongside Gross and Levitt's and Sokal and Bricmont's, which should be read alongside the classic postmodern texts by Foucault, Lyotard, and others.

[Suellen Rubira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um dos pontos fortes do livro é que o Eagleton ataca os pós-modernistas em pontos realmente frágeis de suas formulações. Entretanto, pós-modernistas como o Fredric Jameson já apontam todas as contradições e antinomias existentes no período. Mas curti. É bom ler algo que vá contra uma teoria que estás trabalhando no momento, até mesmo para relativizá-la de modo mais eficiente.

[Hooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uhg! Could not finish this book. Not that I totally adore PoMo but Eagleton sounds like he's trying to sell HIS particular brand of Marxism. Terry has it all figured out-why can't someone listen to him and fix the world.

[C. Çevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Postmodern merkezsiz özne, susturulanların ve anonim olanların durumuna hitap etti; güçsüzlükte gücü görme, kenosis'in muhteşem gücünü önceden hissettirme yeteneğinin berisinde, bir fiyaskodan bir başarının nasıl türetilebileceğini bilen değerli bir tinsel gelenek yatmaktadır." (s.111)

[Mz · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.respublica.gr/2024/03/pos...

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully accessible introduction to and critique of postmodernism, written from a leftists/progressive point of view. Eagleton is smart, funnly, and an exceptionally good writer.

[Alex]

The Illusions of Postmodernism by Terry Eagleton (1996)

[epiphenomenalism · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but much too vague