Crossing the postmodern divide

In this eloquent guide to the meanings of the postmodern era, Albert Borgmann charts the options before us as we seek alternatives to the joyless and artificial culture of consumption. Borgmann connects the fundamental ideas driving his understanding of society's ills to every sphere of contemporary social life, and goes beyond the language of postmodern discourse to offer a powerfully articulated vision of what this new era, at its best, has in store. "[This] thoughtful book is the first remotely realistic map out of the post modern labyrinth."—Joseph Coates, __The Chicago Tribune__ "Rather astoundingly large-minded vision of the nature of humanity, civilization and science."—__Kirkus Reviews__ Crossing The Postmodern Divide Is A Guide For All Those Perplexed By What It Means To Live At The Edge Of An Era. Albert Borgmann Writes For Everyone Seeking To Understand The Sprawling Critique Of Modernity That Informs Virtually Every Aspect Of Life At The End Of The Twentieth Century, From Philosophy, Social Theory, And The Arts To Everyday Worlds Of Work And Family And Community. In This Eloquent Guide To The Meanings Of The Postmodern Era, Borgmann Charts The Options Before Us As We Seek Alternatives To The Joyless And Artificial Culture Of Consumption. With Exceptional Clarity, Borgmann Connects The Fundamental Ideas Driving His Understanding Of Society's Ills To Every Sphere Of Contemporary Social Life. We Have Lost Faith In The Modern Project. Our Society Is Disenchanted With A World In Which Science And Technology Have Become Tools For Destruction; Where Rampant Individualism Is A Mask For Privilege And Greed; And Where The Institutions Of Public Life Are Emptied Of Meaning And Purpose. In Offering Alternatives To Modernity's Exhausted Traditions, Alternatives Already Emerging In Everyday Life, Borgmann Moves This Critique To Its Next Stage. Whether In The Increasingly Flexible Organization Of Work, The Enabling Technologies Of The Personal Computer, Or The Return To Small-scale Communities More In Harmony With The Demands Of Nature, He Finds Us Beginning To Reorder Our Social Worlds. Crossing The Postmodern Divide Also Offers A Powerfully Articulated Vision Of What A Postmodern Culture Has In Store. This New Era, At Its Best, Would Enable Participation, Acknowledge Limits, And Restore To Human Life The Importance Of The Local, The Sacred, And The Communal. The Critique Of Modernism Borgmann Portrays Goes Beyond The Empty Language Of Postmodern Discourse. It Speaks To Real Dissatisfactions With The Quality Of Our World And Strives To Provide Us With A Helpful View Of The Postmodern Divide And What Lies Beyond It. 1: Closure And Transition. Introduction. Sullenness. Hyperactivity -- 2: Modernism. The Rise Of Modernism. Aggressive Realism. Methodical Universalism. Ambiguous Individualism -- 3: Postmodernism. The Postmodern Critique. The Postmodern Economy -- 4: Hypermodernism. The Power And Ambiguity Of Postmodernism. Hyperreality. Hyperactivity. Hyperintelligence -- 5: Postmodern Realism. Moral Decisions And Material Culture. Focal Realism. Patient Vigor. Communal Celebration. Albert Borgmann. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

In this eloquent guide to the meanings of the postmodern era, Albert Borgmann charts the options before us as we seek alternatives to the joyless and artificial culture of consumption. Borgmann connects the fundamental ideas driving his understanding of society's ills to every sphere of contemporary social life, and goes beyond the language of postmodern discourse to offer a powerfully articulated vision of what this new era, at its best, has in store.

[This] thoughtful book is the first remotely realistic map out of the post modern labyrinth.—Joseph Coates, The Chicago Tribune

Rather astoundingly large-minded vision of the nature of humanity, civilization and science.—Kirkus Reviews

Booknews

A guide for the un-hip to the bewildering tangle of new critical theories applied to society, literature, and whatnot. In old fashioned, non-jargon terms, Borgmann (philosophy, U. of Montana) explains the basic principles of modernism, postmodernism, and hypermodernism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In this eloquent guide to the meanings of the postmodern era, Albert Borgmann charts the options before us as we seek alternatives to the joyless and artificial culture of consumption. Borgmann connects the fundamental ideas driving his understanding of society's ills to every sphere of contemporary social life, and goes beyond the language of postmodern discourse to offer a powerfully articulated vision of what this new era, at its best, has in store. "[This] thoughtful book is the first remotely realistic map out of the post modern labyrinth."—Joseph Coates, The Chicago Tribune "Rather astoundingly large-minded vision of the nature of humanity, civilization and science."— Kirkus Reviews A liberal, communitarian, and religious critique of the postmodern United States. Borgmann describes the intellectual, cultural, economic, and political forces that have configured our sullen and hyperactive culture. The various elements of postmodernism and the postmodern critique of contemporary life are explained. The failure of individualism and modernism leads Borgmann to a new vision of community life. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 1. Closure and Transition 11 2. Modernism 29 3. Postmodernism 57 4. Hypermodernism 87 5. Postmodern Realism 119 Notes 158 Index 176 A guide to the meanings of the postmodern era, that charts the options before us as we seek alternatives to the joyless and artificial culture of consumption.