Jean-François Lyotard (1924 - 1998)

Introduction

Lyotard's many contributions to contemporary philosophy include the concept of the differend, metanarratives and little narratives. In his seminal works, La Condition postmoderne (1979) and Le Différend (1983), Lyotard saw society as essentially fragmented. The concept of universality no longer existed for Lyotard as he saw them torn apart as a result of privatisation and decentralisation (the transfer of authority and responsibility from government to its people).

Thus, Lyotard rejected the concept of grand narratives - an idea that grand theories and philosophies existed in our world, such as reason in science and the possibility of absolute freedom. This led to his replacement of little narratives.

Contribution

The Postmodern Condition

La Condition postmoderne, was written in 1979 and commissioned by the Conseil des Universités of the government of Quebec. Later in 1984, it was translated and published as The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge.

Lyotard's study criticised the oppressive concept of the grand narrative and the rise of a new cultural paradigm based on universality. According to Lyotard, humanity now had the opportunity to pursue a myriad of ‘little narratives’ instead, returning political power to the individual and threatening the power base of the authoritarian state.¹

According to Lyotard, the metanarratives which have sustained Western society and discourse should no longer be considered legitimate and authoritative. His central concern is who controls knowledge and how they come to be accepted as valid. Lyotard believed that humanity now had an opportunity to pursue a myriad of 'little narratives', returning power to the individual and threatening the power of the authoritarian state.

“The postmodern era [Lyotard] pictured promised to be one of liberation from ideological servitude.”
The End of Everything: Postmodernism and the Vanishing of the Human (Appignanesi, 2003)

Published Works

• La Condition postmoderne. Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1979.

¹ Appignanesi, Richard. The End of Everything: Postmodernism and the Vanishing of the Human. Icon Books, Cambridge. 2003.