Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Because postmodernism is more of a method or discourse than a set theory (at least so far as typical Anglo-American concepts of theory would have it), Butler worries that some of postmodernism is lost in translation - owing so much to the French intellectual foundation, and owing much to nuance and subtle readings, the translation of postmodern ideas has been slow to be exactly transferred. This is also in part due to the resistance of English and English-speaking intellectual constructs to permit some of the linguistic aspects of postmodernism in any easy way.

One of the key issues of postmodernism is the idea of grand narratives and metanarratives, and changing the way one uses text, language and symbolic items to interpret the world. This is where deconstruction and reconstruction come into play. Butler addresses these issues in terms of philosophy, history, art and expression, as well as ethical and political theory. He claims that the ideas of postmodernism tend to be more successful in the ethical and political realm, dealing with issues of identity, selfhood, difference and autonomy, all of which tend to be linguistically constructed and supported.

Butler quotes Jameson as seeing the postmodern as 'the disappearance of a sense of history', in culture and in philosophy. The question of Pontius Pilate, 'What is truth?' gets played out again and again in postmodern circles in ways the early Romans and Christians would never have thought. Butler worries for the postmodern condition, stating 'Postmodernists are by and large pessimists.' He says that postmodern thinkers are better at deconstruction than construction/reconstruction, and worries that much of what postmodernism inspires is bleak and dark.

Some reviewers of this text have noted a bias against postmodernism in Butler, which is probably a bit misplaced. Butler is biased against some of the outcomes of postmodernist thinking, and goes a bit further in this Very Short Introduction that perhaps is best in describing what might be the outcome of the logical extreme. Still, this is a very good introduction to the underlying principles of postmodernist thought, with some of the applications in various disciplines of the underlying framework.


Not an exposition but a critique   June 20, 2005
Sam James (Leeds, United Kingdom)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

Though this is accessible, it is much more useful as an introductory account of Butler's own views (incidentally, highly critical of "postmodernism") than of so-called postmodern thought itself. It might be more advisable, then, to read a more sympathetic introduction (say Catherine Belsey's excellent "Poststructuralism" in the same series) before moving on to the more hostile views of Butler, Eagleton, et al.


An Extremely Accessable Book   March 7, 2003
7 out of 15 found this review helpful

It is not easy to explain philosophy, especially Post Modernism but Chris Butler suceeds in drawing out the main features and points of a disparate number of philsopers using examples from Art, film, literature and photography to maximum effect.