Postmodernism - A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality

In the original 1979 sci-fi movie, Alien, there is dialogue which brought to mind the phenomenon of postmodernism in Western Culture. Yeah, the mind works in curious ways.

The crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo have encountered an alien life-form which is exquisitely evolved to survive by killing all it encounters. In terms of evolutionary niches, akin in that respect to sharks.

Unbeknownst to the crew, the ship's science officer, an android, Ash has been tasked by the Company with special orders.

Ripley: What was your special order?

Ash: You read it. I thought it was clear.

Ripley: What was it?

Ash: Bring back life form. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded.

Parker: The damn company. What about our lives, you son of a bitch?

Ash: I repeat, all other priorities are rescinded.

And here is the passage that made me think of the phenomenon of postmodernism, the prion of the world of philosophy. So stripped down that they are hard to identify and yet insidiously successful in their niche.

Prion aggregates are extremely stable and accumulate in infected tissue, causing tissue damage and cell death. This structural stability means that prions are resistant to denaturation by chemical and physical agents, making disposal and containment of these particles difficult.

Postmodernism makes dramatic philosophical claims that appeal to the evolved empathy of humans but which claims cannot be supported by objective evidence. Like the misfolded protein of prions, postmodernism has a neat attribute which ensures its continuation in the face of failure. The prion has the misfolded protein and postmodernism has its motte and bailey form of argument combined with rabid ad hominemism.

Post modernism thrives because of those three attributes - it's empty appeal to the empathy of people, combined with its rabid ad hominem attacks on anyone who argues with them, combined with the motte and bailey form of argument in which extravagant (and incorrect) claims are made, retracted when disputed, and then remade as soon as the disputer is either incapacitated or moves on. It makes people feel good, it is unconstrained in destroying its opponents and it relies on convincing people through repetition rather than through evidence.

Much like the alien. Emphasis added.

Ripley: How do we kill it, Ash? There's gotta be a way of killing it. How? How do we do it?

Ash: You can't.

Parker: That's bullshit.

Ash: You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.

Lambert: You admire it.

Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.