Knowledge and Education from Postmodern Perspective

Abstract

Almost three decades have passed since Jean Francois Lyotard first published „The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge" (first published in French, 1979; in English 1984). His classic text has been widely cited, and now no major work on postmodernism is 'complete' without reference to it. He introduced the concept of incredulity toward grand narrative. John Stephens (1998) defined grand narrative as a global or totalizing cultural narrative schema which orders and explains knowledge and experience. Grand narratives are the big stories of society.

Incredulity toward grand narratives became the main characteristic of postmodern thought. Incredulity is not denial or rejection of grand narratives; it is rather an inability to believe big theories of history, development of society and men. The doubts are the essential part of cognition and knowledge from Descartes times. JeanFrancois Lyotard (1984) gave the following examples of big theories which may be doubted at least by some people.