http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2012/11/21/life-of-pi-raises-the-ultimate-postmodern-question-of-faith/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eEOHulh7yc
http://prezi.com/pguby5de4mpt/post-modernism-life-of-pi/
http://www.questia.com/library/1G1-235281139/life-of-pi-as-postmodern-survivor-narrative
Postmodernism
A general and wide-ranging term which is applied to literature,
art, philosophy, architecture, fiction, and cultural and literary
criticism, among others. Postmodernism is largely a reaction to
the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to
explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that
reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but
rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own
particular and personal reality. For this reason, postmodernism
is highly skeptical of explanations which claim to be valid for
all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses
on the relative truths of each person. In the postmodern understanding,
interpretation is everything; reality only comes into being through
our interpretations of what the world means to us individually.
Postmodernism relies on concrete experience over abstract principles,
knowing always that the outcome of one's own experience will necessarily
be fallible and relative, rather than certain and universal.
Postmodernism is "post" because it is denies the
existence of any ultimate principles, and it lacks the optimism
of there being a scientific, philosophical, or religious truth
which will explain everything for everybody - a characterisitic
of the so-called "modern" mind. The paradox of the postmodern
position is that, in placing all principles under the scrutiny
of its skepticism, it must realize that even its own principles
are not beyond questioning. As the philospher Richard Tarnas states,
postmodernism "cannot on its own principles ultimately justify
itself any more than can the various
metaphysical overviews against
which the postmodern mind has defined itself."
7 characteristics of postmodernism in Generation Y
Postmodern thinking pervades today’s culture, media, and politics. If you don’t understand the characteristics of
postmodernism that govern today’s culture, you miss out on really understanding what goes on in the world.
In order to understand the world around us, we must understand the
worldviews and patterns of thought inform the culture around us.
Postmodernism informs more of the current culture than ever before, and
is a driving force behind the media, politics, culture, and religion.
Learning these 7 characteristics of postmodernism that drive our
culture can make all the difference in making sense of the world.
1. Characteristics of Postmodernism: there is no absolute truth
One
of the most prevalent characteristics of postmodernism is the idea that
there is no and can never be any kind of absolute truth. Truth cannot
be known in the context of postmodernist thinking, and those who claim
to know truth are either lying or foolish.
2. Characteristics of Postmodernism: facts and falsehoods are interchangeable
Because
one of the characteristics of postmodernism is that there is no
absolute truth, a natural outgrowth of this thinking is that facts and
falsehoods are interchangeable. What is accepted as truth today could
easily be proven wrong tomorrow, and vice versa.
3. Characteristics of Postmodernism: frustrated with modern thinking
Postmoderns
are typically very frustrated with the modern generation’s inability to
deliver on their promises of peace, advancement, and knowledge. The
modern generation’s failure to accomplish their goals has caused
postmoderns to harbor a great deal of distrust in the ideals of moderns.
4. Characteristics of Postmodernism: rationalization is the norm
Because
of the scientific method’s shortcomings in resolving the problems of
the world, postmoderns’ distrust of what is presented as fact has led
them to embrace opinion as the driving force of thought. One of the
primary characteristics of postmodernism is therefore that if a person
can rationalize their understanding or opinion, it is worthwhile and as
true as is possible for the postmodern thinker.
5. Characteristics of Postmodernism: global community more important than nationalism
Rationalization,
frustration, and the thinking that there is no truth beyond personal
and corporate opinion has resulted in the postmodern tendency toward the
belief that the global good is more important than national interests.
6. Characteristics of Postmodernism: all religions deserve equal recognition
One
of the most controversial characteristics of postmodernism is the idea
the all religions are equally valid. If, as postmodern thinking
dictates, there is no absolute truth, then no one religion offers a
“right” way. If no religion is true, then all religions are equally
false, or equally valid, depending on the person’s point of view.
7. Characteristics of Postmodernism: morality is individualistic
If
there is no true religion, and if there is no absolute truth, then each
person’s ideas about morality are also equally false or valid. This
characteristic is most clearly seen in the common statement, “it’s right
for me.” Every person’s morality belongs to them alone, and morality
that is imposed by another, whether by religion, government, or another
person, and anything that claims to be absolute truth is to be
distrusted.
Life of Pi Genre
Adventure, Magical Realism, Philosophical Literature, Postmodernism
There's no doubt that
Life of Pi
follows in the footsteps (or wake) of the great high-seas adventure
novels. Its author, Yann Martel, spent a year and a half researching
(along with religion and zoology) disaster and castaway stories (
Yann Martel, "How I Wrote Life of Pi").
The book itself references many of the great adventure novelists like
Daniel Defoe and Robert Louis Stevenson, in addition to historical
castaways.
So what happens when you blend fiction and reality?
Well, it depends. If you're like Martel, and your fictions are
out-of-this-world stuff about tigers and carnivorous islands made of
seaweed, then you end up with Magical Realism. In Magical Realism, the
author retains a basic level of realism – a lifeboat, hunger, animal
instinct – but inserts fantastical elements. Like the random French
castaway Pi meets near the end. Or that island with all the meerkats.
Just
for kicks, Martel allows Pi to relate the "real" version of events at
the end of novel. This, friends, is a very postmodern move. (We mean
"postmodern" in this sense: that versions of reality (e.g. stories) have
replaced reality itself.) Martel wants to stress how humans create our
own "realities," as well as how religion, or fiction, often tells the
more attractive story. In essence, there's no such thing as a single
true story. Humans often choose the richer story. Although the richer
story may not line up with the factual events, it often communicates our
humanness in a way the straight facts never could.
Martel
doesn't reinvent prose like James Joyce, but he still aims for some
fairly lofty goals. He's taken the genre of Magical Realism and, through
a real humdinger of a plot, asked his readers some tough questions. Do
people believe in religion – and sometimes in fiction – because they
tell a better story? A more magical story? Is there anything wrong with
that? Because Martel discusses these questions at length – through, of
course, Pi Patel – the book also fits neatly in the genre of
philosophical literature.
