The Methodological Foundations of the Concept of Postmodernism in Jean-François Lyotard and Ihab Hassan

Abstract

Relevance. In a world where metanarratives (science, religion, state) can no longer serve as guarantors of meaning, the only legitimation becomes the linguistic game as communication within local communities. Where Jean-François Lyotard sees the collapse of the system, Ihab Hassan sees the unleashing of creative potential. The purpose of this study is to draw attention to the fact that Lyotard answers the question of why the old world has been destroyed (the rejection of the dictatorship of universals), while Hassan shows how to exist in the new “postmodern world,” transforming fragments of chaos into a new aesthetic and intellectual reality. Methods. The study demonstrates that the philosophies of Lyotard and Hassan are, to a certain extent, complementary when considered inextricably linked rather than in isolation. Although deconstruction and construction are opposing concepts, in the context of the postmodern era it should be noted that a critique of metanarratives does not lead to chaos, but rather to a rethinking and search for new narratives, linguistic constructs, aesthetic and cultural phenomena that could better explain what is subject to deconstruction. Such an interpretation goes beyond a purely negative or purely positive view of postmodernism. Novelty. Is the attempt to combine the theories of Lyotard and Hassan, with the aim of discussing the dialectic of disintegration and construction. If Lyotard writes a diagnosis, then Hassan offers a therapy. Postmodernism is not simply “the end of anything,” it is a transition from the ontology of structures to the ontology of flows. Conclusion. When their methodologies are combined, Lyotard and Hassan together form a specific framework for understanding their contemporary world. For Lyotard, this is a negative phase. He clears the intellectual field, freeing it from the dictates of universal truths. Hassan represents a positive stage. He explains how, within Lyotard’s void, a new form of life emerges: play, irony, fragmentation, and pluralism.