Epistemology and Modernity

In class on 9/2 in our introduction and coverage of modernity we encountered teh term 'epistemology' as paramount to the identification of both modernism and post-modernism. Epistemology by dictionary definition is 'a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods and limits of human knowledge' (dictionary.com). Our reading prior to classo n 9/2 in David Harvey's 'The Condition of Postmodernity' inspected precisely the origin of modernity discussing the circumstances of its emergence from pre-modern society. In the article 'Modernity' from the Oxford Art Online reading in Harvey's packet, the author examines the emergence of modernity and through inspecting this from an epistemological perspective the emergence of modernism can be identified through social trend. The article states that modernity is the 'term applied to the cultueral condition in which the seemingly absolute necessity of innovation becomes a primary fact of life, work and thought... It has been described as teh first truly 'world' culture, universalizing in its ambitions and impact' (2).
Through examining the social norms of lifestyle and cultural norms of teh pre-modern society in comparision to modernity the differences can be identified as 'the ecology of pre-modern socieities was largely agricultural, based on using renewable resources in restorable conditions, but modern societies in pursuit of greater productivity, profits and the spread of 'well-being' are built around machine processing of unrenewable resources' (2). Spawning from this shift from the constant and reliable to in puruist of the unreliable in constant flux, modernity arguably improved the nature, methods and limits of human knowledge. Leading to the universal foundational shift of modernity were teh constant shifts in social dynamics and the constant serach and obssession with 'more'.
As the population expanded simple agricultural exploits were no longer substantial enough to ensure expansion as teh world became more intertwined through trade and international commerce. The pressure put on societies lead to the shift in methods to acquire resources, new modes of thought and ensure internatinoal prosperity and respect. An ideological shift occurred in which new practices replaced teh old and new contexts of valor emerged. No longer was a society being strictly agricultural valorized but now societies pushing the envelope 'of active processes, of changes in all spheres, away from accepted traditions, customary conventions and current practices towards imaginary, often utopian, futures' (2). Looking at this transition epistemologically, sociologists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote of teh condition of modernity, about its emphasis on 'constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions are swept away, all newly formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses, his real conditions of life and his relations with his kind' (2-3). This is an epistemological perspective as it examines modernity through nature, method and shift in the limits of human knowledge.
To examine something epistemologically means just this, to investigate origin, nature, method and limits of human knowledge. Another example of this from the reading that is perhaps more clear investigates the Renaissance; 'it was during the 19th century in Europe that modernizing forces came to dominate material life; the capitalist system of economic exchange became nearly global; industrialists used new technologies and rationalized management to introduce mass production; faster means of transportation and communication spread everywhere; millions of people migrated between nations and into cities; governmental and corporate surveillance became increasingly pervasive and was strongly resisted by organized and revolutionary political movements; everyday life was secularized, traditional values were cast as mere nostalgia and popular culture was shaped into spectacles infused with desire for commodities' (3). This exert offers the most expansive look into what makes up an epistemological investigation, looking at the social shifts and emergence of new cultural norms and thought processes based around commodification.

On my honor I have not witnessed nor received any unauthorized assistance on this work.
Rich Ford