[Avodah] Avodah] Classical Academia, Deconstruction, and Mesorah

[Meir Shinnar]

>
>
> In general, post-modernism is incompatible with mesorah. Here's one
> definition of post-modernism:
>    Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity
>    toward metanarratives.
>                    - Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition
>
> Where a metanarrative is "global or totalizing cultural narrative schema
> which orders and explains knowledge and experience." (John Stephans)
> A metanarrative could be the underlying unity of all fairy tales that
> leads us to a particular expectation and understanding of them.
>
> One can see a central theme of Yahadus, or almost any religion, is to
> bedavka impart a metanarrative. Questioning the metanarrative means
> never really encountering the narrative.
>
> Postmodernism bedavka asks one not to follow naaseh venishmah, to let
> the framework of halachic life speak for itself. And without "ta'amu",
> one will never get to "ure'u ki tTov H'".
>
While postmodernism may be problematic,, someone like rav shagar zt"l
did not at al find it incomatible with mesora (see his kelim shvurim)
-the question is the version of postmodernism.
Yes, there are problematic versions of postmodernism - but let's not be hasty...
Meir Shinnar