The 6 differences between modernity and postmodernity

They are more than historical stages: they are paradigms associated with different ways of thinking and living.

Modernity and postmodernity are concepts that we use especially in the human and social sciences and that have helped us to understand some characteristics of our societies as well as the transformations we have gone through.

Often they are concepts that are used as opposites or as a way of explaining the passage from one historical period to another, however, modernity and postmodernity refer to elements that coexist, that are very complex and that cannot be understood separately.

Taking this into consideration we will explain in very broad strokes some relations and differences between modernity and postmodernity..

A change of epoch?

In very general terms, modernity is the era that began between the 15th and 18th centuries in Western societies, social, scientific, economic and political transformations..

Postmodernity, on the other hand, refers to the second half of the 20th century, and is also known as "late modernity". is also known as "late modernity", "postmodern era" or even "postmodernity-in or even "postmodernity-in-modernity", precisely because the temporal boundaries between the two are neither fixed nor determined.

The term postmodernity is not synonymous with antimodernity, and the prefix "post" not only refers to something that comes "after", but is a concept that has served to unveil theoretical and political movements that had begun in modernity.

That is why, one of the great theorists of postmodernity, Jean-François Lyotard, defines it as a "rewriting of modernity". In other words, postmodernity is not so much a new epoch as the development and actualization of the projects that modernity had begun.

6 differences between modernity and postmodernity

Modernity and postmodernity are stages that cannot be understood as independent or opposed, but as a set of social, political, economic and scientific events.

That is to say that the differences that we will see below do not mean that there has been a complete transition from one paradigm to another, but rather that there have been constant transformations.Rather, there have been constant transformations in different areas of social life.

1. The scientific paradigm and the question of the subject

During modernity, man constituted himself as a subject.. That is, everything is understood with reference to him, including nature and human activity in general. Therefore, the basic question for modern philosophical and scientific knowledge is: what is being?

On the other hand, postmodernity is characterized by "the death of the subject", because knowledge ceases to be centered on the human being, and truth is no longer considered a universal reality, but a constant unveiling.but a constant unveiling. Thus, the basic question for philosophy and science is no longer what is being, but how can I know it?

Science in postmodernity is done in a transdisciplinary way, rejecting deterministic materialismand is integrated into society through the development of technology. Likewise, it tries to get out of the opposites such as mind-body, man-woman.

2. Getting sick is not so bad

During modernity, the body is understood as an isolated object, separated from the mind and composed mainly of atoms and molecules, whereby diseases are understood as the malfunctioning of these molecules, and their cure depends exclusively on the physician and drugs.

In postmodernity, the body is no longer understood as an isolated object, but in connection with the mind and the body.In postmodernity, the body is no longer understood as an isolated object, but in connection with the mind and with the context, so that health is not only the absence of disease but a balance that depends to a large extent on each individual. Illness is then a language of the body and has certain purposes, i.e. a more positive meaning is attributed to it.

3. From rigidity to educational flexibility

In the field of formal education, the most representative paradigm change is that the educational task is no longer the educational task is no longer centered on the activities of the educatorInstead, the learner is given a more active role and collaborative work is reinforced.

Education ceases to promote rigid norms and commits itself to the goal of forming integral persons united to both nature and the community. It moves from being completely rational to being rational and intuitive, as well as from rigidity to flexibility and from hierarchy to participation.

This also has repercussions on parenting styles: parents are no longer authoritarian, but more flexible, open to negotiation and sometimes very permissive.

4. The failure of authoritarian systems

The political arena is characterized by a shift from an authoritarian and institutional system to a consensual and consensual system. towards a consensual system and non-governmental networks.. Thus, political power, which was previously centralized, becomes decentralized, and ideals of social cooperation develop.

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) are emerging and new political values are being sought. Likewise, politics is strongly marked by globalization, a paradigm that promotes global thinking with local actions and attempts to reduce the borders between nations. However, globalization also becomes an actualization of the inequalities promoted by modern colonialism.

5. The global economy

In relation to the above, the economy goes from being local to being global. However, although in postmodernity large economic spaces are sought after, societies reinforce regionalism and tend to return to small forms of economic and political organization.

There is a shift from the dominance of capital, which promotes consumerist lifestyles, to promoting a quality of responsible consumption. Likewise, work is no longer linked only to the obligation to work. and begins to be linked to personal development.

The masculinization of the labor sector is unveiled and collective responsibilities that build team relationships and not simply work relationships are promoted. The development of technology is one of the protagonists of the ideals of progress. It is a matter of giving the economy a humanist transformation that allows other types of coexistence. that allows other types of coexistence.

6. The community and diverse families

Socially there is an exaltation of ecological values that were previously purely material.. If in modernity the ties were rather contractual, in post-modernity the creation of community ties is reinforced.

The same is true in the field of customs and traditions, which used to be rigid and are now becoming very flexible. It is a matter of integrating thought with feeling, a matter that had been separated during modernity.

On the other hand, family values are promoted that go from encouraging large families to insisting on birth control. There is greater flexibility in couplesThere is greater flexibility in couples, who are no longer focused on establishing a relationship with one person for life. Likewise, the traditional family is transformed, it is no longer centered on two-partner relationships, nor only between heterosexual people.

Bibliographical references

• Zeraoui, Z. (2000). Modernity and postmodernity: the crisis of paradigms and values. Noriega: Mexico City.
• Amengual, G. (1998). Modernidad y crisis del sujeto. Caparrós: Madrid.
• Roa, A. (1995). Modernidad y posmodernidad: coincidencias y diferencias fundamentales. Editorial Andrés Bello: Santiago de Chile.