A Review of Reality Isn't What It Used To Be

Introduction:
For those who haven't heard the news yet, we are living in a post-modern world, at least according to Walter Truett Anderson, author of Reality Isn't What It Used To Be. In this delightfully provocative book, Anderson discusses what post-modernism is, why it is happening, and what all this might mean for the human race. The amazing thing is that he nearly succeeds in tackling these three fundamental issues.

What is post-modernism?
For those of us still trying to keep up with our rapidly changing world, Anderson offers an intriguing definition of post- modernism. It is the understanding that reality is socially constructed by people. In other words, reality is not a fixed entity. Our culture's entire set of beliefs about what is good, just, and moral (and other cultures' beliefs as well) is a human creation. This belief system is not based on some higher Truth. There are no absolute Truths, no beliefs which cannot be challenged . All beliefs are human creations, which can be accepted, rejected or modified by people as they wish.

But post-modernism encompasses more than this. It is really the idea that we all tell stories to explain the world. None of these stories is "reality," but merely representations of reality based on the information we have, information which itself is often inaccurate and certainly incomplete. Thus, the same event can being "explained" through many different stories. Just ask the "spin doctors" for various political candidates.

As an example, consider the U.S. Constitution. Most Americans revere the Constitution, and believe that it is the reason for our current freedom. But as Anderson notes, the Constitution is merely an old piece of paper. Other countries have similar constitutions but no freedom. The only reason our Constitution has force is because we all believe in it and abide by it. We as people create our freedom by all agreeing to stick to the Constitution. We create this reality. The Constitution did not create it. As Anderson notes, people sometimes forget that all institutions are human creations.

Why is post-modernism spreading?
Anderson argues that globalization is the driving force behind the emergence of post-modernism. People can see for the first time an entire array of very different Socially Constructed Realities (SCRs), very different belief systems and stories to explain the world. The world's cultures are on display like never before. The entire world can watch what happened in Tiananmen Square. Terrorists operate in a global theater. The entire world gets a glimpse of Hollywood culture through the OJ Simpson trial.

With all these SCRs around, it's hard to argue that one is the Truth, although the Pope and religious fundamentalists in Iran, to name two, still try. Thus, post-modernism spreads.

Does this mean that there is no reality?
Anderson doesn't go this far, although he notes that others do believe this. He says that people construct stories that seem to "fit" the information they take in. However, given any set of information, a person can create several different stories. For an example, just watch how different news shows create different stories out of the same event.

Anderson ties this notion of "fit" to Thomas Kuhn's idea of paradigm shifts in science. Kuhn notes that science at any point in time operates under a mutually agreed-upon paradigm or theory about how the world works. When experiments begin showing evidence which does not fit the current paradigm, eventually a new theory which better explains the evidence is suggested. After an often-times bitter struggle, the new theory is accepted by the scientific community and becomes the new paradigm, the new SCR, the new canon. As Anderson would say, this new SCR is a better fit. However, it is not reality. Eventually, the new paradigm will be discarded and replaced with another. And so on.

How does the post-modern world differ from the modern world?
In chapter after chapter, Anderson explores the ways in which post-modernism is taking hold in the world. As we learn, the post-modern world consistently challenges the notion of "absolutes" undergirding the modern world. In brief, post- modernism can be seen in the following arenas:

Science:

• Many cognitive neuroscientists now believe that part of the brain's function is to tell stories, to make sense of the world, even with little in the way of facts and often without using logic.

• Some scientists believe that there is no one self; the brain consists of many organs which massage raw data. In other words, the self is a SCR.

Literature:

• Literary criticism has moved from finding meaning in the writer's world to finding meaning in the work itself, to finding meaning in the experience of the reader. In the post-modern world, the reader creates the book's reality.

• In the emerging field of literary deconstruction, every text is shown to be inconsistent -- there are always gaps, contradictions, otherness they call it. Deconstructionists critique the idea of representing anything with words. All representations of reality are human, social creations.

• In fiction, we see the rise of "camp," or fiction which calls attention to its own fictionality. This is part of the post-modern phenomenon of seeing the world as theater, as not real in the modern sense of the word.

Law:

• Legal scholars are challenging the idea of permanent legal principles; instead the law is seen as a human artifact which can change over time.

Culture:

• Through globalism, people are realizing that all cultures are man-made.

• We have seen the rise of the notion of brainwashing -- replacing one belief system with an entirely new one.

World as Theater:

• Political leaders try to get their story told; they want their SCR believed. Politicians are on stage as never before, creating stories where they're the hero. Political events are staged for the cameras, and exist only if cameras are present.

• Acts of terrorism are global publicity stunts.

• The media create stories out of raw material. The most exciting and dramatic stories are the ones which become the news SCRs.

• Activists like Abbie Hoffman use drama, sometimes more for the gratification of being on stage than from a desire to make changes. In the post-modern world, being on stage, starring in one's own story becomes its own reward.

Psychology:

• New ideas for treating people include creating a new story of a person's life, a story which fits the facts but puts a different spin on the events. New SCRs are used as explicit tools in therapy.

Religion:

• We live in a culture where you can choose your beliefs, in a culture where people can shop for a church.

• It's easier for cults to thrive in post-modern society, because of greater media exposure, greater tolerance, and the need for some people to decrease the amount of choices in their lives by letting a leader or guru define reality.

The brave new post-modern world:
Anderson notes that we now have a global theater, but no global culture. Global stories are attempts to create a global culture. For example, some people are trying to create a new world story, an emergent fiction of a world based on human rights, or a global society dedicated to the needs of the environment. The global theater is changing our beliefs about traditions and our relationship to traditions, but has not replaced these with a new set of global beliefs or beliefs about beliefs.

Anderson leaves us with the following question: Will norms of behavior have binding force without the binding force of absolute beliefs to back them up? If we know that we make the rules of morality (not the Pope or God), will we still practice these rules? For those leery of these possibilities, Anderson argues that belief systems are stronger than we realize. They will last in some form without recourse to absolutes. In fact, the realization that morals are socially created may spur increased discourse on the nature of morality and result in greater emphasis on moral beliefs rather than the abandonment of morality. And Anderson reminds the doomsayers that the post-modern age is approaching despite concerns about its potential impacts. Globalization has made this inevitable.

A primer for the post-modern era:
Despite his academic background, Anderson has written a fast-paced, readable book for both the ivory tower crowd and the folks on Main Street. He provides lucid insights into the many struggles occurring in the U.S. today, including the religious right movement, the fight over multi-culturalism, and the numerous culture wars. One need only look at the flaps over the Smithsonian's Enola Gay exhibit, the proposed history standards, and New Gingrich's short-lived House Historian for examples from the field of history. Each of these conflicts fits within the framework of our slow, uncertain steps from the modern to post-modern era.

Finally, Anderson notes the slippery nature of this new world. A socially created reality can be seen by some as a world of their own individual creation. This belief, called solipsism by some -- Anderson terms it New Age spirituality -- rejects the notion that there is some reality "out there," but only acknowledges the reality created by themselves. The rest of the world does not exist, but is only a world of their creation. Anderson suggests this may be taking post-modernism too far, but who is to say? How do you judge how well your SCR "fits?" Can you? Thoroughly post-modern questions for us all.