The Postmodern Condition

work by Lyotard

Also known as: “La Condition postmoderne”

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 16, 2026

Quick Summary

Jean-François Lyotard's The Postmodern Condition (1979) defines the postmodern era as a loss of faith in "grand narratives" or overarching explanations like reason, truth, and progress that were central to Enlightenment thought. Instead, postmodernism favors "little narratives" that focus on specific experiences and marginalized groups.12

Lyotard argues that contemporary societies are characterized by incommensurable values and perspectives, leading to conflict rather than rational resolution. This perspective suggests that political disagreements stem from the clash of different "language games," making universal agreement or objective truth unattainable. The emphasis shifts to respecting the integrity of diverse viewpoints and fostering communities based on dissensus.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Jean-François Lyotard
…best-known and most influential work, The Postmodern Condition (1979), Lyotard characterized the postmodern era as one that has lost faith in all grand, totalizing “metanarratives”—the abstract ideas in terms of which thinkers since the time of the Enlightenment have attempted to construct comprehensive explanations of historical experience. Disillusioned with the…
Read More
…best-known and most influential work, The Postmodern Condition (1979), Lyotard characterized the postmodern era as one that has lost faith in all grand, totalizing “metanarratives”—the abstract ideas in terms of which thinkers since the time of the Enlightenment have attempted to construct comprehensive explanations of historical experience. Disillusioned with the…
Read More

French literature
Postmodernism
…Lyotard’s La Condition postmoderne (1979; The Postmodern Condition) declared the end of the modes and concepts that had fueled 18th-century scientific rationalism and the industrial and capitalist society to which it gave birth: the “grand narratives” of historical progress and concepts of universal moral value and absolute worth. Societies were…
Read More
…Lyotard’s La Condition postmoderne (1979; The Postmodern Condition) declared the end of the modes and concepts that had fueled 18th-century scientific rationalism and the industrial and capitalist society to which it gave birth: the “grand narratives” of historical progress and concepts of universal moral value and absolute worth. Societies were…
Read More

political philosophy
Foucault and postmodernism
In La Condition postmoderne (1979; The Postmodern Condition) and other writings, Lyotard declared his suspicion of what he called “grand narratives”—putatively rational, overarching accounts, such as Marxism and liberalism, of how the world is or ought to be. He asserted that political conflicts in contemporary societies reflect the clash of…
Read More
In La Condition postmoderne (1979; The Postmodern Condition) and other writings, Lyotard declared his suspicion of what he called “grand narratives”—putatively rational, overarching accounts, such as Marxism and liberalism, of how the world is or ought to be. He asserted that political conflicts in contemporary societies reflect the clash of…
Read More