Explaining Postmodernism published!

Stephen Hicks's book Explaining Postmodernism, written while a senior fellow at The Objectivist Center, has been published by Scholargy. The book traces postmodernism from its roots in Rousseau and Kant through its current adherents, such as Foucault and Rorty. Along the way, Hicks discusses the reasons that skeptical and relativistic arguments have been accepted in the intellectual world and answers such questions as: Why do most postmodernist academics work in the humanities, but not the sciences? Why has the political Left abandoned reason and science for anti-reason, anti-science, double standards, and cynicism?

David Kelley said this about Explaining Postmodernism:"I'm very proud—and grateful to our donors—that we could support Stephen's work on this book, and excited to see it in print. It is a great contribution to understanding postmodernism, and I think it will have a significant impact."

Explaining Postmodernism started with a class Hicks taught at Rockford College, which then became a summer seminar presentation that he made at the then Institute for Objectivist Studies (now TOC) summer seminar in Boulder, Colorado, in 1998. Hicks wrote the majority of the book while in residence at IOS on a fellowship for the 1999-2000, academic year. The fellowship was funded in part by TOC and in part by Rockford College. During the fellowship, in addition to writing, Hicks participated in two cyber-seminars for the center and gave speeches in Colorado, Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Hicks is a professor of philosophy and director of the honors program in liberal arts at Rockford College, as well as a regular speaker at The Objectivist Center summer seminar—this year his talk was "Philosophy and the Origins of Modern Art." Hicks received his Ph.D. from Indiana University and has been a visiting professor at Georgetown University and a visiting scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. He is also co-editor with Kelley of Readings for Logical Analysis.