--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: jSimplifying to the extreme, I define…" description: "\"“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”\" — J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg" --- # jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as… ![“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.” quote by J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg) > ““jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”” [J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It describes postmodernism as a deep skepticism toward grand, all‑encompassing explanations. **In simple terms:** Postmodernism doubts big stories. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, seek multiple perspectives. Themes skepticism philosophy culture knowledge modernity Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type Incredulity:1 Modernism:0 Postmodern:1 Postmodernism:1 Postmodern Incredulity:1 Define Postmodern:0 Incredulity Metanarratives:1 When to use this quote - academic debate - media analysis - political discourse - education curriculum - personal worldview Key Concepts metanarratives incredulity relativism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance healthy doubt with constructive belief? - What alternatives replace lost metanarratives? A Different Perspective Over‑skepticism can lead to nihilism or paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Define Postmodern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-postmodern-4107248/) [Incredulity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredulity/) [Incredulity Metanarratives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredulity-metanarratives-4107249/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Postmodern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodern/) [Postmodern Incredulity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodern-incredulity-4107247/) [Postmodernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postmodernism/) ## Related quotes > [Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/simplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/) [Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/) > [“Lyotard has described the postmodern condition succinctly as "incredulity towards metanarratives":' an attitude commendable in itself, no doubt, but also one that can easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/lyotard-has-described-the-postmodern-condition-succinctly-as/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“Lyotard. The assertion that postmodernity is “incredulity toward metanarratives” is ultimately a claim to be affirmed by the church, pushing us to recover (a)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-k-a-smith/lyotard-the-assertion-that-postmodernity-is-incredulity-toward/) [James K.A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-k-a-smith/) > [“Postmodernism has turned into this devil's vortex where no matter what you do, your neck will be turned and your face shoved into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/postmodernism-has-turned-into-this-devil-s-vortex-where-no-matter/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [“Even I don’t know myself... In fact, I don’t know if I really have a self at all, as I’m constantly playing different roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simona-panova/even-i-don-t-know-myself-in-fact-i-don-t-know-if-i-really-have-a-self/) [Simona Panova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simona-panova/) > [Without a thorough and deeply rooted understanding of the biblical view of truth as revealed, objective, absolute, universal, eternally engaging, antithetical and exclusive, unified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-groothuis/without-a-thorough-and-deeply-rooted-understanding-of-the-biblical/) [Douglas Groothuis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-groothuis/) > [I always am in a role, lovely for you, for them even for myself. Yeah... Even when Im alone, I am still in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-always-am-in-a-role-lovely-for-you-for-them-even-for-myself-yeah/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A work can become modern only if it is first postmodern. Postmodernism thus understood is not modernism at its end but in the nascent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-work-can-become-modern-only-if-it-is-first-postmodern-postmodernism/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To the extent that we live in a postmodern world and it shapes the concrete circumstances of our daily lives, I would say postmodernism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/to-the-extent-that-we-live-in-a-postmodern-world-and-it-shapes-the/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“This is the postmodern desert inhabited by people who are, in effect, consuming themselves in the form of images and abstractions through which their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mccaffrey/this-is-the-postmodern-desert-inhabited-by-people-who-are-in-effect/) [Larry McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mccaffrey/) > [Insofar as I think about postmodernism at all, and it doesn't exactly keep me awake at nights, I think of it as something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/insofar-as-i-think-about-postmodernism-at-all-and-it-doesn-t-exactly/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [Postmodernism represents a moment of suspension before the batteries are recharged for the new millennium, an acknowledgment that preceding the future is a strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/postmodernism-represents-a-moment-of-suspension-before-the-batteries/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [And I wasnt playing a role I was trying to be myself. But the harder I was striving, the more I was realizing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-i-wasnt-playing-a-role-i-was-trying-to-be-myself-but-the-harder-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The postmodern reply to the modern consists of recognizing that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-postmodern-reply-to-the-modern-consists-of-recognizing-that-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“However, as Bordo herself notes, the problem with the adoption of postmodern ideas in general is that they have led some writers to disregard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jeffreys/however-as-bordo-herself-notes-the-problem-with-the-adoption-of/) [Sheila Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jeffreys/) ## More Incredulity quotes > [Looking back through the mists of time, I recall some distinctly religious experiences in my teens--when I was only fourteen years old to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/looking-back-through-the-mists-of-time-i-recall-some-distinctly/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-reformer-has-enemies-in-all-who-profit-by-the-old-order-and-only/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“If you can't show it, you don't know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aron-ra/if-you-can-t-show-it-you-don-t-know-it/) [Aron Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aron-ra/) > [The first step towards philosophy is incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-first-step-towards-philosophy-is-incredulity/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“The theologian Meric Casaubon argued—in his 1668 book, Of Credulity and Incredulity—that witches must exist because, after all, everyone believes in them. Anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-theologian-meric-casaubon-argued-in-his-1668-book-of-credulity/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We are responsible for our incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/we-are-responsible-for-our-incredulity/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [ ... \[a\] girl one day flared out and told the principal "the only mission opening before a girl in his school was to marry… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-julia-cooper/a-girl-one-day-flared-out-and-told-the-principal-the-only-mission/) [Anna Julia Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-julia-cooper/) > [The Bishop goes on to the human eye, asking rhetorically, and with the implication that there is no answer, 'How could an organ so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-bishop-goes-on-to-the-human-eye-asking-rhetorically-and-with-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Of all the weaknesses little men rail against, there is none that they are more apt to ridicule than the tendency to believe. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/of-all-the-weaknesses-little-men-rail-against-there-is-none-that-they/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [The human understanding is a revelation from its maker, which can never be disputed or doubted. There can be no scepticism, Pyrrhonism, or incredulity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-human-understanding-is-a-revelation-from-its-maker-which-can/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“Jules turned to her, incredulous. 'Do you socialize with Republicans?' "'It happens, Jules.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/jules-turned-to-her-incredulous-do-you-socialize-with-republicans-it/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Sometimes the fluffy bunny of incredulity zooms around the bend so rapidly that the greyhound of language is left, agog, in the starting cage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/sometimes-the-fluffy-bunny-of-incredulity-zooms-around-the-bend-so/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Knowledge of divine things for the most part is lost to us by incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/knowledge-of-divine-things-for-the-most-part-is-lost-to-us-by/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/simplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/) [Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/) > [What is divine escapes men's notice because of their incredulity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/what-is-divine-escapes-men-s-notice-because-of-their-incredulity/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) [Browse all 47 Incredulity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredulity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Incredulity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-con_incredulity_jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-pos_2309964.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives.” — J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "J.F.Lyotard The POstmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“jSimplifying to the extreme, I define...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-lyotard-the-postmodern-condition-a-report-on-knowledge/jsimplifying-to-the-extreme-i-define-postmodern-as-incredulity-toward/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```