Pre-Modern Modern Postmodern

Beliefs Belief in religion, Faith in Science Wider variety of beliefs

superstition, tradition Truth cant be found in
metanarratives/grand
theories/ideologies e.g.
Marxism
No one set of ideas gives
absolute truth
Social Change Circular Belief in Lost belief in progress
progress

Attitude Prejudices, science Use knowledge The Enlightenment

towards not given primacy for human Project was abandoned
Enlightenment/ emancipation in contemporary
Science and enrichment societies.
of daily life
 Human Nature
Social Order
Social Change
Views about Sociology as a Discipline
Criticisms
 Humans as participants in language-games.
(Lyotard)
Humans are imprisoned in the exchange of
signs and images (Baudrillard)
 Social life as being organized around
language-games (Lyotard)
Language-games
Justify/legitimate peoples behaviour
Participants assert things to be true
Each statement is a move to win the game (to get
their version of what is true or right to be
accepted)
 Pre-modern Modern Postmodern

Principal Narrative- the Scientific denotative Multiplicity of

Language- telling of stories, games different
game myths, legends and language-games
tales that are specific to
particular areas of
life
Legitimacy Self-legitimation: Statements are Statements are
Establish right to scrutinized or subject to judged by
speak and rational argumentation whether they are
legitimacy to who or proof by other useful and
they are participants in the efficient or not
game

Relation to Help to convey Science depends on Diversity is the

social order rules on w/ch metanarratives order of the day
social order is (narratives that give a as people lose
based; socialization sense of purpose to faith in the search
scientific endeavor and for one truth
direction to social life)
 Society is not based on production but on
exchange of material goods (Baudrillard).
Buying and selling of signs and images w/ch
have little relationship to reality
The images are everything, the reality nothing
(e.g. cars, cigarettes, pop stars)
 Modern society is based upon production
and exchange of simulacrum (image of
something that does not exist and has never
existed).
Disneyland
 Changes due to technology (Lyotard)
Control over knowledge becomes the major
source of power
Knowledge not an end in itself, but something
to be bought and sold (future wars)
Possibility of tolerance, creative diversity
 Mass media and television
TV watches, alienates, manipulates and
informs us.
Reality is just a series of images produced by
the media w/ no evidence that what they
depicted was real
 Impossible to find out objective truth about
society
 Encourages political apathy
Rejects possibility of objective reality but
makes sweeping generalizations too
Consumer Society