School #20

Postmodernism

Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard

Postmodernism challenges the idea of a single, objective reality, suggesting instead that reality is fragmented and subjective, constructed through language and cultural contexts.

I. Time

Extent Both
Ontological Status Emergent
Grain Continuous
Freedom Non-Deterministic
Traversability Linear
Dimensionality N
Direction Multi-directional

Time is emergent and constructed through language, narrative, and power — there is no single, objective temporal order. Multiple temporal frameworks coexist and no meta-narrative of time is privileged. Time's extent is both finite and infinite depending on the discourse. Direction is multi-directional because different narratives arrange temporal events differently.

II. Space

Extent Both
Ontological Status Emergent
Curvature Undefined
Dimensionality N
Locality Local

Space is emergent and socially constructed — it is produced through power relations, discourse, and cultural practice (Foucault's heterotopias, Lefebvre's social production of space). Its curvature is undefined because the postmodernist rejects any single authoritative spatial description. Space is local in the sense that spatial meaning is always situated and particular.

III. Matter

Extent Finite
Ontological Status Emergent
Conservation Conserved
Dimensionality N
Locality Non-local

Matter is emergent and discursively constructed — what counts as "material" is shaped by the conceptual frameworks, power structures, and narratives of a given culture. Matter is conserved within the framework of physics, but the postmodernist treats physics as one language game among many. Matter's locality is non-local because material meanings circulate through discourse without fixed spatial boundaries.

IV. Observer

Time Instance Multiple
Space Instance Multiple
Extent of Knowledge Immediate
Retainment of Knowledge Immediate
Physicality Variable
Agency Active
Number Plural
Time Instance: Multiple — no single temporal vantage point is privileged; multiple simultaneous narratives and temporal perspectives are equally valid
Space Instance: Multiple — perspectives from multiple locations are equally valid; there is no central or objective point of observation
Extent of Knowledge: Immediate — all knowledge is local, partial, and constructed through language and power; no observer has access to a total, neutral view of reality
Retainment of Knowledge: Immediate — knowledge is fluid, contested, and subject to revision; it is not permanently fixed or universally transmissible

V. Energy

Extent Finite
Ontological Status Emergent
Conservation Variable
Dispersibility Irreversible

Energy is emergent and discursively constructed — its meaning varies across cultural and scientific contexts. Conservation is variable because different discourses may treat energy differently. Dispersibility is irreversible within the physics discourse, but the postmodernist resists granting this universal status.

VI. Information

Ontological Status Relational
Conservation Non-conserved
Granularity Continuous

Information is constructed, contested, and deconstructible — there are no fixed informational truths. All information is embedded in power relations and cultural contexts.

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