Man who coined the phrase ‘Postmodern’ is often forgotten - Jean-François Lyotard

More fashionable names in Postmodern theory include Foucault, Derrida, Baudrillard and Barthes. But the man who coined the phrase ‘Postmodern’ is often forgotten. It was Jean-François Lyotard in The Postmodern Condition (1979), yet he often gets ignored, as his views contradict his hipper colleagues. 

As a far-left activist and academic in France, Algeria and the US (in the Critical Theory Department of the University of California, then Emory University) he explored the impact of postmodernity on a wide range of subjects; philosophy, epistemology, science, art, literature, film, music and culture. 

Meta- and Mini-narratives

His alternatives to ‘meta-narratives’ are personal ‘mini-narratives’ that reduce knowledge to personal experience. Objective, empirical evidence is trumped by lived experience, so that the mini-narratives of individuals and groups are placed above those of science, general ethics or society as a whole.

We see in Lyotard an explicit epistemic relativism (belief in personal or culturally specific truths or facts) and the advocacy of privileging ‘lived experience’ over empirical evidence. We also see the promotion of a version of pluralism which privileges the views of minority groups over the general consensus of scientists or liberal, democratic ethics which are presented as authoritarian and dogmatic. This is consistent in postmodern thought.

In The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (1979) Lyotard explores the transformation of knowledge in postmodern society, focusing on how the decline of meta-narratives and the rise of performative knowledge affect educational practices. The Differend: Phrases in Dispute (1985) elaborates on the idea of different discourses and the importance of acknowledging differences in understanding and communication, relevant to educational contexts that value diverse perspectives.

Like Foucault, Jean-François Lyotard’s views on teaching and learning reflect his broader critique of knowledge and society. With the decline of grand narratives and the rise of performative, context-dependent knowledge, he pushed for an educational approach that values diversity, adaptability, and critical engagement. He also encouraged a move towards more flexible, pragmatic, and technologically integrated forms of learning that respond to the complexities of the postmodern condition.

The grand narratives of the Enlightenment (meta-narratives) that once legitimised knowledge are in decline. Universal reason and progress no longer rule and this decline affects how knowledge is produced and transmitted. Learning is increasingly legitimised through its utility and efficiency, rather than through universal or absolute claims. This shift influences educational practices and the goals of teaching and learning.

Knowledge, for Lyotard, changes with the dissolution of dominant narratives. The Enlightenment narratives of objectivity, truth are no longer applicable. This, he thinks, has caused a crisis in knowledge, as it has been commercialised, creating tensions between rich and poor, private sector and state. 

Lyotard oddly used "paganism" metaphorically to describe a stance that rejects universal principles in favour of a multiplicity of perspectives and values. In this context, it contrasts with monotheistic or universal approaches to truth and ethics. This concept is linked to his broader critique of universalism, advocating instead for a recognition of diversity and the co-existence of different, sometimes conflicting, ways of life. 

Parology

Knowledge, if more fragmented with a plurality of perspectives, is opposed to the fixity of a ‘canon of universal knowledge’. Building on the value of these multiple perspectives, he introduces the concept of ‘paralogy’, the generation new, often contradictory perspectives and diversity in thought, a pluralistic approach to learning. Localized, context-specific narratives are preferred to overarching truths. Teaching and learning should, therefore, focus on fostering diverse perspectives and critical thinking.

Knowledge is contingent and context-dependent and cannot be derived from universal principles. We must now look towards their pragmatic effectiveness in specific contexts to combat the traditional notions of academic authority and curriculum design. Traditional educational institutions perpetuate outdated meta-narratives and hierarchical structures and resist the pluralistic and performative approaches that Lyotard advocates, so he called for reform.

Teaching and learning are open, dynamic processes rather than rigid, predetermined paths and should embrace uncertainty and complexity, encouraging students to engage with multiple perspectives and to be critical of established norms. It should involve innovation and experimentation, allowing students to explore and create new forms of knowledge rather than merely replicating existing ones.

Performative Knowledge

Lyotard sees learning increasingly judged by its performance, practical application, and efficiency rather than its slavish adherence to old narratives and universal truths. Performative Knowledge is valued for its ability to produce measurable outcomes and skills that can be immediately applied in practical contexts. This performative emphasis shifts the focus of education towards marketable skills and competencies. This ‘perspective’ influences curricula to prioritise skills and knowledge that have clear, immediate applications and can be quantified, often at the expense of more traditional, humanistic educational goals.

Language games

As part of his critique of grand narratives and stated truths, he also had a view on language and its uses. While the term "language games" was originally coined by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Lyotard popularised it in the context of postmodernism to describe how different groups use language according to their own rules and contexts, leading to a plurality of meanings rather than a single, unified understanding. This concept highlights the idea that knowledge and meaning are contingent on social contexts and that different communities or disciplines may operate according to different linguistic norms.

Technology

Lyotard also recognises the significant impact of technological advancements on teaching and learning. Technology changes how knowledge is accessed, distributed, and valued. In a world characterised by rapid technological advancements, the production and dissemination of knowledge become highly efficient. Educational institutions must adapt to these changes by integrating new technologies into their teaching methods. The rise of digital learning aligns with Lyotard's idea that knowledge is becoming increasingly performative and accessible in new forms, led him to embrace learning technologies.

Yet, as he is critical of claims that knowledge is truth, as it is a slave to 'meta-narratives'. Science, in particular, he sees as a meta-narrative that puts knowledge in the hands of power and politics, thereby shedding its claim to objectivity. Faith in science, as he explains in Inhuman (1988) legitimises the digital capture of knowledge and therefore faith in technology.

Critique

Despite the claim for a plurality of perspectives there is often a fall back to universal claims, theories and values. Also, his attack on science as a meta-narrative doesn’t really explain why the scientific method, with falsification lacks legitimacy or what scientific knowledge has been delegitimised. It is a failure to recognise that many of the meta-narratives postmodernists criticise have methods that allow them to examine, even themselves. They are also sceptical about claims claiming to be absolute truths and at least have processes of self-correction.

It is as if the progress we’ve made since the Enlightenment didn’t exist, that there was no Reformation, French Revolution, secular progress, no progression towards liberal democracies and values. Postmodernism doesn’t have a monopoly on emancipation, many of the advances made in the 60s and 70s were prior to Postmodernism, not caused by it. That was not just the well-spring but theoretical basis upon which such progress was made, the very progress that allows the current generation of critical theorists to think and act for themselves.

Worse still, it destroys all possible methods of discussion, debate and disagreement, the foundations of liberal democracy, there is no arguing with it. All common ground or methods of falsification have disappeared or are interpreted as power plays. It has donned all the defensiveness of the meta-narratives it purports to despise.

Bibliography

Lyotard, J.F., 1984. The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge (Vol. 10). U of Minnesota Press.

Lyotard, Jean Francois. (1988). The differend : phrases in dispute / Jean-Francois

Lyotard ; translation by Georges Van Den Abbeele. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press

Lyotard, Jean-Francois. (1988). The Inhuman: Reflections On Time (First Published). California: Standford University Press.