TY - CHAP

T1 - Atheism and Postmodern Philosophies

AU - Hyman, Gavin

PY - 2021/9/30

Y1 - 2021/9/30

N2 - ‘Postmodernism’ was once very much in vogue, although it has recently experienced something of an eclipse. This is true in the field of philosophy, as in various other fields, including literature, art, music, architecture, and theology. Initially emerging as a recognized term in the late 1970s, postmodernism became especially prominent in the 1980s, 1990s, and into the new millennium. But although postmodernism in philosophy has given way to various other movements, including new materialism, speculative realism, ‘new Hegelianism’, and revivified forms of Platonism, to name but a few, these new philosophies would have been inconceivable without the postmodernism out of which they emerged. Furthermore, many of what were once the most controversial claims of postmodernism have now been largely accepted and taken as commonplace. In this sense, postmodernism continues to cast long shadows, even at a time when its own name is rarely invoked. The question of its relationship to atheism is a fascinating and ambivalent one, with some seeing postmodernism as inherently atheistic, and others regarding it as undermining and destabilizing all atheistic claims.

AB - ‘Postmodernism’ was once very much in vogue, although it has recently experienced something of an eclipse. This is true in the field of philosophy, as in various other fields, including literature, art, music, architecture, and theology. Initially emerging as a recognized term in the late 1970s, postmodernism became especially prominent in the 1980s, 1990s, and into the new millennium. But although postmodernism in philosophy has given way to various other movements, including new materialism, speculative realism, ‘new Hegelianism’, and revivified forms of Platonism, to name but a few, these new philosophies would have been inconceivable without the postmodernism out of which they emerged. Furthermore, many of what were once the most controversial claims of postmodernism have now been largely accepted and taken as commonplace. In this sense, postmodernism continues to cast long shadows, even at a time when its own name is rarely invoked. The question of its relationship to atheism is a fascinating and ambivalent one, with some seeing postmodernism as inherently atheistic, and others regarding it as undermining and destabilizing all atheistic claims.

U2 - 10.1017/9781108562324.036

DO - 10.1017/9781108562324.036

M3 - Chapter

SP - 632

EP - 646

BT - The Cambridge History of Atheism

A2 - Bullivant, Stephen

A2 - Ruse, Michael

PB - Cambridge University Press

CY - Cambridge

ER -