The word postmodern, today, is often mentioned, what is postmodern?
The philosopher Caputo said that the theme of modernity is universality and precision, while postmodernity pursues difference and individuality, and postmodernity appreciates irregularity and chaos.
Postmodernity is not only seen as nihilistic by many, we often see postmodernity as non-mainstream and a subversion of the traditional order.
The philosopher Lyotard brought the term "postmodern" into the core discourse of modern and contemporary philosophy in the West, and he argued in The Postmodern State: A Report on Knowledge that postmodernity is just that: the skepticism of metanarratives.
The postmodern is relative to the modern, and if the modern is characterized by a belief in the correctness, legitimacy, and authenticity of metanarratives, then the postmodern is characterized by a suspicion of all metanarratives. Postmodernism, he says, is the recognition that narratives, ideas, and values—the things we use to give meaning to life—are dead shells, obsolete and should be discarded.
Postmodern critique of meta-narratives and questions the legitimacy of narrative knowledge, including in the humanities, according to Lyotard, which follows certain rules of the game, and that they often exist to disseminate a general consensus that does not need to be further proved, that is, a set of self-justifying meta-discourses constructed for the sake of metanarrative. The pursuit of progress, the pursuit of reason, the pursuit of equality and freedom in a universal sense are all typical meta-narratives of modernity.
Lyotard draws on Wittgenstein's idea of the "language game" to critique and reflect on meta-narratives. These discourse systems of universal significance and universal value have been questioned and even denied.
Postmodernism denies universality and certainty, so is postmodernism nihilism, the answer is no, postmodernism looks a lot like nihilism, they reject tradition, they reject meta-narratives, they oppose foundationalism, but they don't oppose foundations, because they face reality. Postmodernism is anti-foundationalism, modernity regards reason, science, and morality as the cornerstones of human society, and regards them as having innate legitimacy, but today we can see that blindly emphasizing morality has become immoral, trying to use morality to discipline and preach, but it makes many young people resist.
Postmodernity opposes all the legitimacy of inherent concepts that have the ability of meta-narrative, what people living in a modern society will take for granted, is regarded as decadent and stubborn by postmodernists, modernity has a crisis of legitimacy of meta-narrative, but postmodernists embrace the crisis of legitimacy, the so-called concepts, narratives, and meanings they recognize are all products that have been manufactured, they no longer cling to this vain illusion, they deny that meaning is eternal, universal and unchanging, postmodernism no longer regards traditional narratives, Universal values and ethics are regarded as the cornerstones of reality, and no transcendental basis exists other than reality.
So, postmodernism is anti-foundationalism, they believe that meaning is constructed, not substantiated, not given, but created. They were criticized for being relativistic, solipsistic, anarchic.
But this is not nihilism, they just face reality head-on and abandon the illusions of romanticism and rationalism. On the contrary, the opposite of postmodernism, the foundationalists are the true nihilists, who assume that there must be some ultimate meaning, such as God, essence, or scientific facts, while postmodernists reject such foundations.
Behind these phenomena, there is actually a real return to reality, they refuse to admit the inherent concept of respect and inferiority between superiors and subordinates, they refuse to admit the moral kidnapping between relatives, they refuse to integrate into secular values, they believe that these pre-existing values, morality and outlook on life have no basis for legitimacy, they are against foundationalism, and they are also against the many multi-narrative narratives of modernity.
Therefore, Lyotard argues that postmodernity is a suspicion of, and even an objection to, meta-narratives, including all values, outlook on life, morality, marriage, love, etc., and they refuse to use these metanarratives to give meaning to their own lives, and oppose that their own living lives are bound to these inherent and universal meta-narratives.