''The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge'' () is a 1979 book by the philosopher Jean-François Lyotard, in which the author analyzes the notion of knowledge in postmodern society as the end of 'grand narratives' or metanarratives, which he considers a quintessential feature of

modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular Society, socio-Culture, cultural Norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the ...

. Lyotard introduced the term 'postmodernism', which was previously only used by art critics, into philosophy and social sciences, with the following observation: "Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives".Lyotard, Jean-François (1979). ''La condition postmoderne: rapport sur le savoir''. Paris: Minuit. Anderson, Perry (1998). ''The Origins of Postmodernity''. London/New York: Verso, pp. 24–27. Originally written as a report on the influence of technology in exact sciences, commissioned by the ''Conseil des universités du Québec'', the book was influential.Bruneault, Frédérick (Autumn 2004).
Savoir scientifique et légitimation
, ''Revue PHARES'' vol. 5.

Summary

Lyotard criticizes metanarratives such as

reductionism Reductionism is any of several related philosophical ideas regarding the associations between phenomena which can be described in terms of simpler or more fundamental phenomena. It is also described as an intellectual and philosophical positi ...

and teleological notions of human history such as those of the Enlightenment and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, arguing that they have become untenable because of

technological Technology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible tools such as ute ...

progress in the areas of

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

. Techniques such as

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and machine translation show a shift to

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and symbolic production as central elements of the postindustrial economy and the related postmodern culture, which had risen at the end of the 1950s after the reconstruction of

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. The result is a plurality of language-games (a term coined by

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

), of different types of argument. At the same time, the goal of truth in science is replaced by "performativity" and efficiency in the service of capital or the state, and science produces paradoxical results such as chaos theory, all of which undermine science's grand narrative. Lyotard professes a preference for this plurality of small narratives that compete with each other, replacing the

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

of grand narratives.

Reception

''The Postmodern Condition'' was influential. However, Lyotard later admitted that he had a "less than limited" knowledge of the

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

he wrote about, and to compensate for this ignorance, he "made stories up" and referred to a number of books that he had not actually read. In retrospect, he called it "a

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

" and "simply the worst of all my books". The poet Frederick Turner writes that, like many post-structuralist works, ''The Postmodern Condition'' "has not worn well". However, he sees it as more readable than other post-structuralist works, and credits Lyotard with covering "a good deal of ground in a lively and economical fashion".Turner, Frederick. ''The Culture of Hope: A New Birth of the Classical Spirit''. The Free Press, 1995, p. 283.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Postmodern Condition, The 1979 non-fiction books Books by Jean-François Lyotard Contemporary philosophical literature French non-fiction books Works about postmodernism Epistemology books