Some new approaches to the world were developed going into the 20th century in response to rapid changes taking place at the time. These philosophies often attempted to make sense of a world that seemed to be going mad with the new technologies and advances that were being introduced. Every aspect of life was changing as people moved from the farms to the cities, economics was based upon the products of the factories rather than the products of the field or cottage industries and society was no longer so clearly ordered by previous class distinctions. Individual life roles were no longer clear as men no longer defined their worth by their birth status and social position but by the amount of money they made and women began exploring a more active lifestyle outside of the home. Some of the ideas to cope with these changes, such as the ideas of Romanticism, focused on rejecting these advances. This mode of thinking attempted to draw clear connections between existing nature and the common man in a way that rejected the processes of the city. Other theories, such as Pragmatism, focused on discovering the certainties of life. Based upon the scientific advances of the time and in recognition of a need for better flexibility of thought, Pragmatism was presented as the theory of the future. The concepts of Pragmatism led to the development of the postmodern condition that has shaped much of western thought in the past century and the ideas of existentialism that have changed the art world.
Pragmatism is a philosophical movement developed in the United States in 1870 by Charles Sanders Peirce. He was a member of the metaphysical club where he met thinkers like Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, John Fiske, and William James. In 1878 he wrote an article “How to Make Our Ideas Clear” published in the Popular Science Monthly, and formulated his ideas on pragmatism, his new approach to philosophy. His theory of pragmatism states that the meaning and truth of any idea is the function of its practical outcome (American Pragmatism-1, 2009). He also states that pragmatic theory holds an intrinsic connection between meaning and action—that the meaning of an idea is to be in its “conceivable sensible effects” and that humans generate belief through their habits of action.
Although Peirce created the theory of pragmatism it was William James who developed the theory further and brought it into mainstream America. He did so in works such as Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking (1907) and The Meaning of Truth: A Sequel to Pragmatism (1909). He considered pragmatism to be both a method for analyzing philosophic problems and a theory of truth. He also saw it as an extension of the empiricist attitude in that it turned away from abstract theory and fixed or absolute principles and toward concrete facts, actions, and relative principles. James considered philosophies to be expressions of personal temperament and developed a correlation between tough-minded and tender-minded temperaments and empiricist and rationalist positions in philosophy.
Pragmatism rose out of the advancement of scientific method in the late 19th century, characterized by the work of Charles Darwin. Darwin’s theories were extrapolated to suggest that life and society are in a constant state of evolution. While the philosophy focuses on relating theory to practice, pragmatists strove to influence all areas of philosophy, from metaphysics to political and ethical policies. The pragmatist movement looked to refine “traditional ideas about the nature of reality. Traditional metaphysics assumed that the world has a fixed, intelligible structure and that human beings can know absolute or objective truths about the world and about what constitutes moral behavior” (Pragmatism, 2009).
Some critics were worried that the lack of absolute truths would have a negative effect on society. Pragmatic thinkers do not believe that a distinct idea of justice or truth exists, but that these are perspectives that are variable and dependent on the context of the situation. Critics feared that the lack of absolutes would result in the demise of moral standards. However, in practice, pragmatism challenged the foundations of religion and government. Rather than eliminate moral standards, pragmatists looked to ethical reasoning to debate the validity of commonly accepted mores. As a result, pragmatism greatly influenced advances in ethics, education, philosophy, cultural criticism and the scientific method.
In our society, this mutability of truth allowed for different ethical standards to be applied in various realms of experience. The moral standards of war are obviously different from life at home. Business and industry can also require a distinct set of standards. To an artist, the flexibility of truth allowed for experimentation with human responses in a variety of situations. This exploration into different aspects of the human condition inspired the creation of art that challenges those who experience it.
Postmodernism is somewhat elusive. As Aylesworth (2005) notes, “[t]hat postmodernism is indefinable is a truism” (par. 1). Postmodernism arose in the West. Just as the modernists before them questioned the values of the Victorian era, the postmodernists questioned the ideologies that arose during Modernism. Among these Felluga (2003) cites Maoism, communism and Nazism, as well as “late capitalism,” the sense that alternatives to capitalism no longer exist. Before World War II, “postmodernism” was a term used to describe being against modernism (Fiero, 2006). Historian Arnold Toynbee coined the term “postmodern” in the 1940s (Felluga, 2003). Later, the term postmodernism was used to describe the culture from about 1960 to the end of the 20th century (Fiero, 2006).
Some of the major characteristics of postmodernist art are its self-reflexivity; irony and parody; a lack of distinction between high and low forms; its retrospective inclusion of old styles or themes; it’s questioning of traditional concepts; and a loss of reality through simulacrum or by substituting a representation of something for the real thing (Felluga, 2003). An example of self-reflexivity is Picasso’s Woman in the Studio (1956). Sandy Skoglund creates almost mundane scenes using real and imitation objects for her brightly colored, surreal photographs that exemplify simulacrum.
The tenets of postmodernist philosophy are closely related to the themes expressed in its art. As Aylesworth (2005) argues, these themes are intended to undermine or destabilize other social constructions, such as “presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning” (par. 1).
Shea’s portion
Existentialism originated in Germany with the work of Martin Heidegger. “Heidegger was strongly influenced by the 19th-century irrationals philosophers Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzche, and was the disciple of the German idealist philosopher Edmund Husserl” (Lorimer, 2009). Kierkegard had a special use of the word ‘existence’ that was intended to represent that which separates human beings from other creatures – the ability to reflect upon themselves. His work centered around commentary on, and his relationship with, Christianity. Husserl was the founder of phenomenology, which called for an individual to suspend any pre-existing beliefs they may have about a particular phenomenon when studying it. Heidegger believed that life could only be understood through self-contemplation, particularly of death. It was this work that influenced the most famous existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre believed that ‘existence precedes essence and that we start with nothing and is who we make of ourselves. Kierkegaard, Heidegger and Sartre all rejected the previously accepted notion of the Ego, and contradicted Freud’s theory of consciousness.
Existentialism is a fascinating subject. Its concerns are fundamental and immediate to ourselves – who am I? What am I? What life shall I live? How shall I live it? – and by ‘adopting’ this attitude there is an inherent sense of dynamism, of process, journey, discovery, enlightenment and revelation that is felt and believed to be more important than the building of self-contained, all-encompassing systems more usual to philosophic behavior (Earnshaw, 2007, p.1-2).
Existentialism is a modern philosophy that considers human subjects to be the starting point of their philosophical thoughts. Existential philosophers included the individual’s conditions of existence, feelings and actions in their philosophy. Existentialism focuses on the way by which humans discover their existence in the world and thus, according to it human existence comes first and only after that does every individual spends their entire lifetime changing their basic nature and spirit.
Simply put Existentialism can be thought of as one which focuses on finding one’s self and also the meaning of an individual’s life by means of personal responsibility, free will and choice. Individuals try to find out throughout their lives what they are and make certain changes, reflected through Existentialism, in their lives based on their outlook, experiences and beliefs. These personal changes and choices are completely unique and do not require to be objective. According to Existentialism, an individual must be responsible for the changes in their life and choose them without considering traditions, laws or ethnic rules. Also, an individual is also at his best when he has to fight for his life against his basic nature.
There have been indications of Existentialism in the works of 19th and 20th-century philosophers, like Friedrich Nietzsche and Søren Kierkegaard. Among the more modern philosophers who believed in Existentialism was Martin Heidegger. He further influenced other philosophers like Albert Camus, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Franz Kafka and Fyodor Dostoyevsky also used existentialist philosophy in their literary writings.
Existentialism also refers to change in the form of revolt. The fundamental concepts of our modern industrial society were formed in the 17th century as a result of a revolt and thus Existentialism also reflects the changes in the industry. Existentialism can be viewed as a revolt against the various features that existed in the industrial society before the 17th century. People constantly protested against the attitude of the industrial society in those times which finally resulted in its change today. When man protested against the belief that he was a mere element of the social process consisting of production and consumption procedures, it reflected the feeling of meaninglessness, estrangement and finitude in man.
Individuals protested against a system with the intention of changing it which considered them to be more than an object of the worldwide mechanical reality. People like Søren Kierkegaard, Alfred North Whitehead, Karl Marx, Henri Bergson, Trendelenburg, Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach and Friedrich Nietzsche favored Existentialism and wanted to change the constitution of the industrial society for saving our basic existence.
In reaction to the great changes that were occurring at the beginning of the 20th century in every element of life, Peirce brought forward the concepts of Pragmatism that James embraced and made popular. These ideas were largely based upon the ideas of Charles Darwin who suggested that life evolved continuously to meet changing environmental needs. This concept was translated into thought with Pragmatism which itself evolved into the concepts of postmodernism. Essentially, this led to the idea that society and thought evolve as well. As a result, it is considered that there are no absolute answers, no hard truths and no certain responses. Although a difficult term to pin down, postmodernism led to the development of existentialism.
References
Aylesworth, G. (2005). Postmodernism.
Earnshaw, Steven. (2007). Existentialism. Continuum. New York, NY.
Felluga,D. (2003). General Introduction to Postmodern. Introductory guide to critical theory
Fiero, G. K. (2006). The Humanistic tradition, fifth ed. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Lorimer, Doug. (2009). Existentialism and Marxism.
Pragmatism (2009) Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia.
Radical academy.com, American Pragmatism-1(2009).