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"Metanarrative" is a term that is used in critical theory, and particularly postmodernism. In this context it refers to a grand overarching account, or all-encompassing story, which attempts to give order to the historical record, and to justify the existence of social institutions and authorities. The term is most well-known for its use by Jean-François Lyotard in the following quotation: "Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives" (1984). By this, Lyotard meant that the condition of postmodernity is characterized by an increasingly widespread skepticism toward metanarratives, such as reason, truth, and justice, that were accepted without question in modernity.1 The meaning of metanarrative
Metanarrative has become a term of art within critical theory. Originally, the term metanarrative was used in a structuralist sense to refer to any narrative concerned with the idea of storytelling, or which alluded to itself and to its own artifice. See, e.g., Hope (1976) and Prince (1982, p. 121).
In 1984, Jean-François Lyotard, a post-structuralist, framed the idea of metanarratives in a much broader context. To Lyotard, a metanarrative includes any story, classic text, or archetype that provides a framework upon which an individual's own experiences and thoughts may be ordered. According to Lyotard, the "postmodern condition" is characterized by Western society's lack of respect or reverence toward metanarratives. It is this sense of the word matanarrative that is in most common use today, particularly in the discourse of postmodernism.
According to Lyotard and many other post-structuralists, metanarratives are the distinguishing feature of the modernity, encompassing modern science, religion, politics, and culture. These grand, all-encompassing stories are typically characterised by some form of 'transcendent and universal truth' in addition to an evolutionary tale of human existence (a story with a beginning, middle and an end). The majority of metanarratives tend to be relatively optimistic in their visions for human kind, some verge on utopian, but different schools of thought offer very differing accounts.
For example, many Christians believe human existence is inherently sinful though capable of redemptionRedemption is a term in Christianity, meaning delivery from sins. Also see salvation''. Redemption also might mean A progressive/ heavy metal band named Redemption. A collectible card game called Redemption, published by Cactus Game Design. A two-part epi and eternal peace in heavenThe heavens are the sky, the celestial sphere, or outer space. Indeed, sky is the original meaning of the word Heaven''. Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many world religions or spiritual philosophies. Those who believe in heaven generally hold tha. For the EnlightenmentFor the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding movement in the European Jewish community, see Haskalah''. For the Hindu religious concept of enlightenment, see moksha For the Buddhist religious concept, see enlightenmen theorists ( the philosophes ) rational thought allied to scientific reasoning will lead toward an inevitable progression for mankind. And for the Marxist human existence is alienated from its species being though capable of realising its full potential through collective, democratic organisation. Likewise a blind faith in the free marketA free market economy is an idealized form of market economy in which buyers and sellers are permitted to carry out transactions based solely on mutual agreement without interventionism in the form of taxes, subsidies, regulation, or government provision and trickle down effect is open to metanarrative interpretations, though not as blatantly utopian as others.
2 Modern skepticism toward metanarratives
According to Jean-François Lyotard, a defining condition of postmodernity is a widespread skepticism or "incredulity" toward metanarratives (1984). Lyotard and many other poststructuralist thinkers have viewed this as a positive development for a number of reasons. First, attempts to construct grand theories tend to dismiss the naturally existing chaos and disorder of the universe. 'Metanarratives' ignore the heterogeneity or variety of human existence. Furthermore, they are seen to embody unacceptable views of historical development, in terms of progress towards a specific goal. The latent diverse passions of human beings will always make it impossible for them to be marshalled under some theoretical doctrine and this is one of the reasons given for the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1990s.
