Dear Friends,
It seems to me, it is time to go beyond modernism, and post modernism, to Enlightenmentism. Modernism is the advance of the Enlightenment, the idea that all knowledge can be learned and understood through the scientific method. Post modernism seeks to move beyond that principle, to a more ancient idea, that knowledge is irrelevant because all relationships are a power dynamic. The one is based on the power of knowledge… the other is based on power to harm, both falling short of the mark. Enlightenmentism includes modernism’s scientific method, but tempers its myopic intolerance of the supernatural, with a humbler view, that some things are beyond us. The world includes things that we can’t even imagine, and without the humility to acknowledge it, they are forever unknowable.
Modernism is an empowering philosophy. It literally has brought us to the Moon. The scientific method has allowed us to plumb the depths of the natural world. That astounding advance in knowledge didn’t come free however. It came with the baggage of arrogance. Our experts epitomize egoism. They know it all and so need not listen to another point of view. That would not only be a waste of time but insulting. Since they already know it all, they have no need for God, they killed him and replaced him with a human deity… Themselves. They are the gods we have sought since time immemorial, or so they believe. That is why the absurdity of atheism has become such a powerfully negative force in the world today. Atheism comes from a lack of humility… arising from arrogance, hubris and egoism.
Post Modernism is a philosophy about power. It has taken the egoism of the modernists and turned it up to a thousand. The post modernist has a totalitarian philosophy. Which, they believe, is far more efficient. No need to think, just believe a proved lie and voila, they are purified. The post modernist is told what to believe, what to think and what to do. Since post modernism is about power, not reality, humanity or even rationality, any errant thought or word will lead to their ostracism. This keeps the zealots in line. While post modernism, by its very name, implies it goes beyond modernism, it is in fact, a step back. It is a return to the Rights of kings, the philosophy of the sophists and rhetoricians. It posits that power is all that counts. Science will naturally decline under a post modernist paradigm.
Enlightenmentism connects knowledge with humility. It takes the scientific method from modernism, combines it with the humility to realize we are not gods, and thus becomes something greater than them added together. They multiply each other. Imagine how far the scientific method could advance our knowledge, if “scientists” had a bit of humility, and paradigm shifts could happen more regularly, with less egoistic friction and emotional baggage. Paradigms would fall like rain. Because the single biggest blockage to human advancement is our own egos. Our arrogance holds us back. Plus, the ostracism has been quite effective at protecting paradigms. So perhaps it is time to give up the blockage, and merge onto the knowledge super highway? Enlightenmentism would be that autobahn.
We all know the universe is more than just material. We feel it in our hearts, minds… and souls. To deny a thing we know to be true, because it cannot be measured, boxed or recorded, is myopic. Worse, it is prideful. Both modernism and post modernism lack humility. They believe themselves capable of being gods. The one through knowledge and the other through power, but we are not and will never be gods… until we gain the humility of God. You may imagine God to be the opposite of humble, being the creator of heaven and Earth, but I think he is the epitome of humility. Because humility is independent of accomplishment. So, no matter the scientific accomplishments of the modernists, or the power attained by the post modernist, their lack of humility will perpetually hold them back.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
