Postmodernism: philosophical paradigm or sociological explanatory scheme?

Abstract

The question of the scientific status of the postmodernism concept is relevant because of the fact that scientists appeal to it without reflecting on the boundaries and possibilities of its use. At the same time, the relevant use of the provisions of this concept requires an analysis of the problems that have become an incentive for its appearance, as well as of the structure of social environments whose consciousness corresponds to the conceptual foundations of postmodernism. For these environments, postmodernism is a relevant philosophical paradigm. It is shown that the total problematization of the moral foundations of social life, carried out by postmodernists, significantly limits the amount of social environments for which postmodernism is able to act as a relevant sociological explanatory scheme. These boundaries of relevance are significant for social environments that are not ready to problematize the moral foundations of their individual and social lives.