print“The Applied Turn of Postmodernism” as a Prerequisite for a Change in Ethical Paradigms
Zarubina N.N.
Dr. Sci. (Philos.), Prof., Department of Sociology, MGIMO University, Moscow, Russia n-zarubina@yandex.ru
Zarubina N.N. “The Applied Turn of Postmodernism” as a Prerequisite for a Change in Ethical Paradigms. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 9. P. 3-13
The article examines the practical consequences of the postmodernism spread as a dominant intellectual and ideological trend in Western countries. Based on the analysis of the Western authors’ the critical direction concepts it is shown that its consequence is a transformation of the ethical foundations of social actions, the emergence of a new ethical paradigm called the “culture of victimhood”. The influence of postmodernism is manifested in the blurring of the boundaries of the binary opposition “good – evil”, the shift in emphasis from actions to discourses, from universalistic approaches and objective facts to individual experience and emotions, in the construction of the moral conflict poles based on oppression and aggression narratives. The novelty of the author’s approach lies in the substantiation of the concept of “culture without a hero” as a consequence of the actualization of applied postmodernism, its destructive influence on the ethics of responsibility, in the disclosure of specific mechanisms of social control, in particular, the “cancel culture” as a tool for implementing practices of the “victimhood culture”. The question is raised about the prospects for the spread of this “culture” in Russia and a conclusion is made about the existence of certain prerequisites for it. At the same time, it is shown that the critical perception of postmodernism in academic circles and the absence of its “applied turn”, a high value of heroism and service are factors hindering it. Neomodernism may become a significant alternative.
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