THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE: THE POSTMODERN PERSPCETIVE OF LYOTARD

Abstract

This paper demonstrates Jean-Francois Lyotard's theory of knowledge in postmodern societies. Lyotard explores the nature of knowledge, including how it is generated, structured, and used in contemporary society. He questions who has access to knowledge, how it is utilized, who controls it, and how it influences our lives and perceptions of the world. He rejects meta-narrative theories that posit knowledge as serving universal human goals and instead argues that knowledge in contemporary societies is primarily organized in terms of efficiency, profitability, commodity, and power. Furthermore, he contends that the nations with the most advanced technology, communications, and information are the most powerful. He equates the state of knowledge with the systems of domination that undermine our understanding of truth, value, and justice. Finally, Lyotard argues that postmodern societies are experiencing a reduction of knowledge to efficiency and a dehumanizing culture due to the emergence of machine-led computer-controlled systems.