Stephen Hicks on Postmodernism Part 1

Are truth, knowledge, and objective reality dead?
Postmodernism became the leading intellectual movement in the late twentieth century. It has replaced modernism, the philosophy of the Enlightenment. For modernism’s principles of objective reality, reason, and individualism, it has substituted its own precepts of relative feeling, social construction, and groupism. This substitution has now spread to major cultural institutions such as education, journalism, and the law, where it manifests itself as race and gender politics, advocacy journalism, political correctness, multiculturalism, and the rejection of science and technology.

At the 1998 Summer Seminar of the Institute for Objectivist Studies (now called The Atlas Society), Dr. Hicks offered a systematic analysis and dissection of the Postmodernist movement and outlined the core Objectivist tenets needed to rejuvenate the Enlightenment spirit.

ABOUT STEPHEN HICKS:
Stephen Hicks is a Canadian-American philosopher who teaches at Rockford University, where he also directs the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Hicks earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Guelph, Canada, and his Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington. His doctoral thesis was a defense of foundationalism.

Hicks is the author of two books and a documentary. "Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault." He argues that postmodernism is best understood as a rhetorical strategy of intellectuals and academics on the far-Left of the political spectrum to the failure of socialism and communism.

His documentary and book "Nietzsche and the Nazis" is an examination of the ideological and philosophical roots of National Socialism, particularly how Friedrich Nietzsche's ideas were used, and in some cases misused, by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis to justify their beliefs and practices. This was released in 2006 as a video documentary and then in 2010 as a book.

Additionally, Hicks has published articles and essays on a range of subjects, including free speech in academia, the history and development of modern art, Ayn Rand's Objectivism, business ethics, and the philosophy of education, including a series of YouTube lectures.

Hicks is also the co-editor, with David Kelley, of a critical thinking textbook, "The Art of Reasoning: Readings for Logical Analysis."

[jeffmcelroy]

Whod listening in 2024? This mans commentary and analysis couldnt have been more accurate and on point.

[DarthAlphaTheGreat]

When I hear "contradictotions are normal", I actually hear "War is peace; freedom is slavery; Ignorance is Strength"

[thadtuiol]

Holy crap, he gave this speech way back in 1998! It's 22 years later, and the chickens have really come home to roost.

[MarkHill]

Thank you doctor Hicks. I started to wake up a couple years ago and my life now is a million times better. I give you some credit for it.

[uberdonkey]

This guy explains things so clearly. These two videos are gold.

[flypig]

Postmodernists are like film critics, they point out flaws based on their view, but the act of making a better movie is not part of their skill set, in fact whenever they do try it mostly fails.

[ThompsonDB]

To suggest our senses may not fully comprehend the completeness of reality is logical to me, but to suggest that they have absolutely no relation to true reality, despite us having emerged from and existing in that reality, is a non-sequitur for me.

[extranolugar]

I love this presentation - the current culture war now makes perfect sense. Supporters of the Enlightenment have a lot to lose.

[kellivanbonn]

Get rid of all individuals what's left? Nothing. Get rid of all groups, what's left? Individuals. Individuals are the fundamental unit, not groups.

[HankTube]

Hearing words from Kant, like 'one can not know reality by using reason', or questions like 'why does existence exist' is what made me stop taking philosophy classes. But I must say, I truly enjoyed this lecture, really an explanation, by Stephen Hicks. Thanks for posting, Atlas Society.

[paulharris]

We cannot know reality by reason or experience, but CONSEQUENCE always looms, offering us glimpses of reality...

[daverosenthal]

What an excellent lecture - clear, structured, and logical

[joelb]

It’s great to hear how civil the question period is at the end, even tho most of the questions came from people who disagreed with him

[Mruta]

As much as I love this lecture, this part really seemed absurd to me:

33:58: "Hegel loved to capitalize Reason, it was always 'Reason' with a capital 'R'."
Hegel wrote his books in German, a language in which nouns are always capitalized.

[pn]

Jordan Peterson and Stephen Hicks diagnose Post-modernism.
*The full blow-by-blow transcript of Jordan Peterson's August 2017 interview of Prof. Stephen Hicks, author of "Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism from Rousseau to Foucault."*

[Chamindo]

Critical thinking is so rare these days. Refreshing like cool water in a dry wasteland. Thank you for the excellent upload.

[sgt]

Non postmodernists typically explain postmodernism more clearly than postmodernists do.

[Davidlee]

Could the human species have survived if instead of using reason and learning about how plants respond to the environment thereby introducing the concept of agricultural increasing food production, the pondered about how the plants feel, how i feel etc.

[THEENTIREFREAKINGUNIVERSE]

I think Kant and Kierkegaard would horrified by post modernism - which is a philosophic cancer.

[pkassies]

I've listned to the lecture of Stephen Hicks twice now. The first part is a history on filosophy and how they are the pre-cursor to Post-modernism. This is a great perspective for a filosophy noob like me.

I like his analogy between decline of religion and decline of socialism, and the subsequent ways how filosophers deal with the conflict of their reasoning and the reality.

Second part is all about the concepts that make up Post-modernism thinking and its way of argumentation. Listen until the end, where Hicks argues that PM won't be around for long, since it lacks substance.