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Modernism And Postmodernism

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Modernism is very troublesome to define with clarity because of the fact that the term revolves around various genres of movements be it artistic or philosophical. Nonetheless, there are some primary beliefs of the Modernist genres that appeal in someway or the other to the various movements and also the writers.
Modernism in general can broadly be described as the “deviation from the ancient and classic manner”. (Johnson, J., The New Royal and Universal English Dictionary, Millard, 1763). It is the radical movement away from the past in search of new styles of expression. It refers to a reforming movement away from the traditional forms in various fields like architecture, art, music, and literature during the late 19th century and the …show more content…

1997.)
As post-modernism was a direct reaction to modernism, the two along with their respective theorists often criticize each other and often justify their views in various debates and discourses.
“Habermas and the Unfinished Project of Modernity” is a collection of essays, which show us the discourse between modernism and Post-modernism. Jürgen Habermas is a German social theorist who is also a strong defender of modernity. He vigorously counteracts various criticisms made by post-modernist theorists on modernism. Many intellectuals in the modern day have become skeptical about the emancipatory potential of modernity but Habermas still believes and continues to insist on the idealistic utopian potential of modernity as the “child of enlightenment”. As modernism take has influences from democracy and reason, Habermas sees it as an unfinished project. By this Habermas is trying to state that there is still so much to be done in the domain of modernism before contemplating a move to the post-modern world.
Marx influenced Habermas as he had an association with the Frankfurt School of social thought, but nonetheless believed that Marx’s views needed to be thoroughly changed in order to make them genuinely contemporary and modern. Considering this, Habermas came up with two important theories namely The Theory of Communication, and The Theory of Rationalization of System and Life-world. In his theory of communication, Habermas assigns himself to redefine the Marxian

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