Philosophy On Wayne, Philosophy On Garth

The Postmodern World: A Crossover Debate with my Philosopher partner in Crime Thomas Doane at Philosophsarus Rex

Pushing inauguration events aside, everyone witnessed the Hunger Games:

I wanted to point out that Thomas Doane and I have begun Philosophsarus Rex. To get the man on his proverbial feet I thought it wise to start a small fire to kindle our newborn Substack. In preparation for this weeks post at Truth In Focus I have been spending a great deal of time in postmodern thought. On the outset I quickly realized that Thomas and I may have differing perceptions concerning the postmodern condition in which we find ourselves.

It is my belief that America’s 45th President Donald J. Trump was a complete postmodern President; a manifestation of late modernity’s yearnings for a hero and a villain. Trump just so happened to represent the radical right, the alt-right, but it is questionable if President Trump was indeed a man of the right or a man who took advantage of their woes. Previously I have mentioned that I believed Trump to be the first postmodern president, but I stand corrected as Barack Obama was the first (another topic to be sure). However, in reaction to thematics of Obama, Donald Trump entered center stage to fill a void in the political right, a strong arm who could MAGA his way though Washington. QAnon and the Alt-right are blatant examples of the modern malaise that is postmodernism. As this discussion started with Thomas, I texted the following:

Trump for me represents something both fake and real, true and false, corporatized and statist. He is an enigma for sure, but I think a postmodern one.

Without going into too much detail in order to allow Thomas to make his initial arguments I wish to only explain what I believe postmodernism to represent, not what it is, but what it represents and later I will explain its meaning and purpose (yes, there is real meaning and purpose to be interpreted despite its own misleadings).

At the heart of the matter, in the years of my own research, I believe postmodernism is in actuality a reflection of present reality. It is not the truth, but it does truthfully, on the whole, present the world accurately as it is; postmodernism presents a world lost in meaning and purpose. Interpretations are nothing more than a whose who rather than an attempt to reveal absolute truth or ultimate reality. At the center is the Self. A vain obsession without ourselves; our world; our lives; our meaning; and our purpose. Not God. Not Others. Not even Nature despite appearances. The SELF is the god of gods. Postmodernism reflects back the fulfillment of modernity. Modernity is not dead, but has reached a climax that now quickly dims and decays. Without trying to explain what modernity achieved, it is my intention to demonstrate how Donald J. Trump is a manifestation of these events. And, though this is not the center of the topic, our 46th President, Joe Biden, is a point of postmodern dissimilation i.e. he appears familiar but is hardly traditional.

I will allow Mr. Doane to make a full response and we will continue this debate on Philosophsarus Rex.