Metamodernism is emerging as a new collective value system aimed at incorporating, contextualizing, and transcending all previous value systems. This grand narrative resolves conflicts among them into an integrated whole. Hanzi Freinacht's AI-generated YouTube short provides a condensed and sincerely surreal introduction to this fascinating philosophy.
Key points from the video:
- Integration of Values: Metamodernism seeks to resolve the tension between modern and postmodern values, integrating cultural, spiritual, political, scientific, and social trends.
- Neo-Romantic and Post-Ideological: This body of thought is a neo-romantic, post-ideological, open-source, globally-responsive, and paradox-resolving framework.
- Global Perspective: Metamodernism presents a holistic approach to contemporary challenges by observing intersecting global trends.
Modernism and postmodernism represent two distinct paradigms in evolving cultural, philosophical, and artistic thought. Modernism, which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is characterized by a strong belief in progress, reason, and the power of human innovation. It embraces grand narratives and universal truths, seeking order and meaning in a rapidly industrializing world. Modernist art and literature often focus on the individual's experience and the quest for authenticity in a fragmented society. In contrast, postmodernism, which gained prominence in the mid-20th century, challenges these notions by rejecting the idea of absolute truths and embracing relativism and pluralism. Postmodern thought is skeptical of grand narratives, highlighting reality's complexity and constructed nature. It often employs irony, pastiche, and playful intertextuality, reflecting an increasingly chaotic and diverse world. While modernism strives for coherence and unity, postmodernism celebrates ambiguity, multiplicity, and the subversion of traditional boundaries.
Metamodernism transcends the dichotomy of modernism and postmodernism by integrating their core principles, striving for both progress and pluralism. It acknowledges the value of grand narratives and universal truths from modernism while embracing the skepticism and relativism of postmodernism. This new paradigm seeks to harmonize these conflicting viewpoints into a coherent, adaptive framework that responds to contemporary global challenges. Central to metamodernism is 'sincere irony' and the oscillating pendulum that is constantly swinging between modernism's idealism and postmodernism's autoincorporated critiques of modernism, which embraces earnestness and authenticity while recognizing the complexities and contradictions of our time, continuously moving between idealism and doubt.
Imagine the possibilities of how metamodernism can shape our future by transcending traditional boundaries and fostering a more integrated worldview. This vision is not complete without your perspective. Join the conversation, share your thoughts, and let's explore this potential together.