Whatever next? We had modernism, not only theological but also cultural and philosophical. Next we had post-modernism, a phase of relativism, nihilism and cynicism (the cost of everything but the value of nothing, to quote Oscar Wilde).

Here is a talk on this difficult subject. The word is quite ugly and superficially conveys the impression of a variation of post-modernism. Unfortunately some word is necessary to give some notion about what several human beings are thinking in common, especially if there is an inkling of hope in our polarised and conflicted world.

Metamodernism sur Wikipedia

Metamodernist Manifesto which seems to be a cynical joke, but it is interesting to read with a critical mind.

The first things that strikes me is Hegel’s thesis-antithesis-synthesis, which was one of the tenets of German Idealism. The metamodernist sees a way out of the two-party system of modernism (scientific rationalism) and cynical nihilism.

Is there an analogy with Romanticism?

We propose a pragmatic romanticism unhindered by ideological anchorage. Thus, metamodernism shall be defined as the mercurial condition between and beyond irony and sincerity, naivety and knowingness, relativism and truth, optimism and doubt, in pursuit of a plurality of disparate and elusive horizons.

The word is used, and the objective seems to be the famous in medio stat virtus of Thomas Aquinas or the via media of Anglicanism. Moderation and a desire for harmony and reasonableness seem to be desirable in this ugly modern / postmodern world.

There is a lot of difficult philosophical language. Here is another video I intend to watch:

I suspect some of my readers and I could help each other in this exploration. Is it the new Romantic movement that could revive Christian spirituality, a new Christian humanism and a new quest from truth, beauty and goodness.