Transmodernism
Description
"excerpt from the Wikipedia :
Transmodernity is a loose term describing a development of thought that seeks a synthesis of the best of 'pre-modern,' 'modern,' and 'postmodern' reality.
Transmodernism is a development in thought following the periodization of postmodernity. It sees postmodernity, or hypermodernity as the conclusion or culmination of modernism, and critiques modernism and postmodernism on material, social, and spiritual viewpoints.
Transmodernity consists of a set of criticisms aimed at theories it perceives as advocating relativism, pessimism, nihilism, and counter-Enlightenment, by embracing with a limited capacity foundationalism, absolutism, optimism, and universalism.
It draws elements from both modernism and postmodernism, and can therefore be seen as an amended and more tolerant form of modernization. Transmodernity is a loose term describing a development of thought that seeks a synthesis of the best of 'pre-modern,' 'modern,' and 'postmodern' reality.
Transmodernism appears to be in part influenced by the esoteric movements that sprang from the Renaissance. It is also influenced by the Transcendental movement and admires the American philosophy of mid-nineteenth century writers like Emerson and the Transcendentalists. Transmodernism often continues today in the rise of new religions and spiritualism. Its tendencies are also felt in humanitic and transpersonal psychology. It is thought to be 'leading edge and often subject to change'.
Transmodernism reacts against both modernism and postmodernism by opposing the wholesale secularization of society. It criticizes the rejection of all traditional worldviews and their truths as unproven, false, or of no importance. It encompasses social movements confluent with traditional systems of philosophy, religion, and morality. These movements often find themselves at odds with modernism and postmodernism, yet the Transmodernism sees tradition as self-propelled and adaptable at its own independent pace. There is room for both modernity and tradition." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmodernism)
Characteristics
1. The emerging Transmodern or Integral Culture is summarized by Paul H. Ray as follows:
[1] Ecological sustainability, beyond environmentalism
[2] Globalism: Two of the top values for Cultural Creatives are xenophilism (love of travel to foreign places, of foreigners and the exotic)
[3] Feminism, women's issues, relationships, family
[4] Altruism, self-actualization, alternative health care, spirituality and spiritual psychology
[5] Well-developed social conscience and social optimism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmodernism)
2. See the table proposed by Michael Mehaffy ,also at: Modernism Post-modernism Transmodernism
| .. | Modernism | Post-Modernism | Trans-Modernism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form language | Linear (abstraction,repetition) | Fragmented/emegent (scripts, parametricism) | Differentiation, pattern |
| Social agenda | Altruism (naive) | Cynicism, irony | Capacity-building |
| Schema | Top-down | Intuitive | Bottom-up/inductive pattern/combination |
| Artistic regine | Industrial romantic | sculptural | Integrative (art/life) |
| Technology | Elementary industrial | Post-industrial/Fordist | Biological/biophilic |
| Best practice methodology | Ex-cathedra theory | Deconstruction methods | Evidence-based design |
| Guiding concepts | Rationalism | Irony | Biophilia/biomimicry |
| Economics | Socialist (top-down) | Capitalist (ironic) | Jacobsian (feedback systems, Mechanism design theory) |
| Philosophy | Platonic [1] | Post-structuralism | Symmetric structuralist [2] |
- ↑ See Salingaros and Mehaffy, "Geometrical Structuralism"
- ↑ There is a structure we can manage, because it is comprehensible. But there are limits - and powers - of language that we must understand so as to take full advantage. Language is a structure in nature, like any other (and more pervasive than we thought). This is its power, to address our challenges and enrich our experiences. See e.g. http://athensdialogues.chs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/athensdialogues.woa/45/wo/GjfKilUtZqFHjV7nh1pBO0/3.0.0.47.1.5.15.1.1.1.0.1