The Philosophy Café

The Philosophy Café at Harvard Book Store is a monthly gathering meant for the informal, relaxed, philosophical discussion of topics of mutual interest to participants. No particular expertise is required to participate, only a desire to explore philosophy and its real-world applications.

The Philosophy Café is held on the third Wednesday of each month, from 7:30-9:30 pm, in the Used Book department on the lower level of Harvard Book Store.

Topic of Discussion for June:

In contemporary culture a new kind of irony seems to be taking hold: As in all irony, the surface meaning turns out to be misleading or incomplete. But the twist is that in post-modern irony the hidden meaning underneath is also "not true" or even missing entirely. And that's the point. The post-modern attitude questions meaning and plays on the fact that there may be none.

Is the prevalence of postmodern irony in our culture a defining feature of who we are? Is it a good thing? Does it enhance or undermine democracy and culture? Is it associated with decadence or sophistication (or both?) Are there alternative forms of expression that would benefit us more, or damage us less?

Traditionally, irony has been used as a rhetorical device to express a different meaning than the surface meaning of an expression. A philosopher or writer might use irony to avoid persecution by concealing his/her real subversive message under an innocuous façade. (On the cultural level, it could be argued that “Camp” within the gay community was a survival strategy for developing a gay culture in a homophobic society.) Alternatively, ironic expression might be a way to get behind the reader’s/ observer’s defenses and have one’s point have more of a stinging affect. Traditionally therefore, the point of irony is to express a true meaning rather than a surface meaning. In what we are calling postmodern irony however, the point is that while the surface meaning is not “true”, there is not some partially hidden true meaning either—in fact there isn’t actually a true meaning of the expression.

In Anglo-American philosophy, postmodern irony is invoked by the late Richard Rorty. (Although he doesn’t use the term “postmodern” much.) In continental philosophy, there have been more postmodern ironists than you could shake a stick at. In high culture, the work of conceptual and pop artists, who seem to subvert the idea of Art with their Art, could be seen as exemplifying postmodern irony. In popular culture, the Shrek series of movies, it could be argued, undermines fairy tales while being fairy tales themselves. Lady Gaga is another example of self-parody.

Suggested Readings

Susan Sontag “Notes on Camp”
http://interglacial.com/~sburke/pub/prose/Susan_Sontag_-_Notes_on_Camp.html

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) Entry on “Postmodernism”
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/

SEP entry on Richard Rorty, including his “liberal ironism”
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rorty/

Internet post on Shrek
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Shrek

A blogger appreciates Lady Gaga
http://www.sezin.org/2010/05/20/intertextuality-irony-gaga-paparazzi/

A New York Times account of irony in the Art World
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/art-awards-and-irony-at-the-guggenheim/