How did postmodernism challenge Enlightenment ideas about reason and progress?

Postmodernism challenges Enlightenment ideals by rejecting the belief in objective truth, universal reason, and the inevitability of human progress.12

Challenging Reason and Progress

Postmodernists argue that Enlightenment faith in science and technology as instruments for societal improvement is misplaced. Instead of viewing these tools as inherently liberating, many postmodernists contend they have been used to facilitate oppression and mass destruction. They reject the Enlightenment concept of "grand narratives"—totalizing frameworks like liberalism or Marxism that attempt to provide comprehensive explanations of history and human development.234

Relativism and Power

Postmodernism posits that knowledge, reality, and values are not objective but are constructed by discourses influenced by power dynamics. Thinkers like Michel Foucault argued that what is labeled "rational" or "normal" often serves to marginalize non-elite groups and maintain the interests of dominant institutions. Consequently, postmodernists advocate for "little narratives" (petits récits) that respect diverse, incommensurable perspectives rather than imposing a single, universal standard of reason.143