Why Most Postmodernist, Poststructuralist, Etc. Texts are Obscure and Pretentious
Paul Austin Murphy’s Essays on Philosophy, Dec 13, 2021
Perhaps the primary reason why most readers (even educated and philosophically-literate ones) don’t understand most post-modernist, post-structuralist, theorist, etc. texts is that the writers of those texts don’t understand them themselves. In other words, perhaps there isn’t much to understand in the first place. Alternatively, if there is something to understand, then it’s often very simple and even banal — hence the tortuous prose which is used to hide these facts.
Why Most Postmodernist, Poststructuralist, Etc. Texts are Obscure and Pretentious
Summary by ChatGPT
Paul Austin Murphy critiques postmodernist and poststructuralist texts, arguing they are often obscure and pretentious due to the following reasons:
Insularity and Intellectual Elitism: Critics of these texts are dismissed as lacking the intellect or depth to understand their complexity. This creates an exclusive academic "tribe" that marginalizes dissenting voices.
Unintelligibility by Design: Murphy posits that many authors of such texts do not fully understand their own work or deliberately obscure simple ideas with convoluted language to project profundity.
Cultural and Academic Gatekeeping: Familiar terms, names, and jargon are used to signal belonging rather than to advance clear arguments, leading sympathetic readers to embrace such texts based on recognition rather than understanding.
Critiques and Parodies: Incidents like the Sokal Affair reveal that even proponents of these texts may not fully grasp or critically assess their content. Parodists have demonstrated how easily the academic style can be imitated to produce nonsensical yet accepted works.
Defense of Obscurity: Supporters justify the difficulty of these texts as inherent to their technical or philosophical depth. Critics argue, however, that simplifications often reveal their banality, implying the obscurity is a shield for lackluster content.
Academic Incentives: Students and academics replicate the complex styles and ideas to succeed in academia, perpetuating a cycle of pretentiousness detached from genuine intellectual rigor.
Murphy illustrates his points with examples of obscure prose and highlights the tension between the perceived profundity of postmodernist texts and their frequent lack of substance.