Post-modernity and Confidence
07
Aug
The book of Anthony Giddens which refers to the consequences Modernity 
analyzes that the “style, custom of life or social organization that emerged in Europe from the seventeenth century and which subsequently became more or less world-wide in its in fl uence” (Giddens 1991, P. 17-20) discusses the (in) existence of a “post-modernity” that is not of the least importance, since it is only a terminological question, since we know that modernity has passed, and that today it is not enough to invent new ones Terms of understanding social phenomena, but to say what in fact is the very nature of Modernity.
Among the various topics covered there is a recurring theme in my reading, which is the rhythm of the change of the era of Modernity and the scope of change, since some of the social transformations already penetrate virtually the whole world and with this the intrinsic nature of the great institutions Modern, without any correspondence in previous historical periods, already happen, for example, “the political system of the nation-state, wholesale dependence on the production of inanimate energy sources, or complete transformation into commodities and wage labor,” a Ideals such as Hegel intended that these institutions be “eternal.”
A second relevant is the relation to knowledge, for him “sociological knowledge spirals inside and outside the universe of social life, reconstituting both this universe and itself as an integral part of this process” (Giddens, 1991, 24). ) As modern scientism wants, but it also seems to be in check.
The third and particularly important theme is the subject of confidence, which has already been dealt with by authors such as Niklas Luhmann and Talcot Parsons, Giddens says, citing the definition of trust conveyed by the Oxford English Dictionary, which would be understood as “belief or credit in some quality or attribute Of a person or thing, or the truth of an affirmation “(GIDDENS, 1991: 38).
Giddens warns of the shift from this theme to that of systems, as in Luhmann’s case, where:
“One of the meanings of this, in a situation in which many aspects of Modernity have become globalized, is that no one can choose to leave completely out of the abstract systems involved in modern institutions. This is most obviously the case for phenomena such as the risk of nuclear war or ecological catastrophe. “(GIDDENS, 1991, p. 88).
Both the belief idea and the credit idea for the author are in some way linked to the idea of faith.
Giddens himself clarifies that Luhmann distinguishes faith and trust, emphasizing that this must be understood especially in relation to risk, a term originating from the modern age.
Without concluding what is meant by still trust, postmodernity refers, in Giddens’s view to the process in which: “all preexisting foundations of epistemology are revealed without credibility; that history is devoid of teleology and consequently no version of progress can be plausibly defended; And that a new social and political agenda has arisen … “(GIDDENS, 1991, p. 36).
GIDDENS, A. The Consequences of modernity. Stanford; Stanford University Press, 1990. (pages is numer of brazilian edition).
