or, the illogic of Postmodern nihilism[1]
If all narratives are texts,
and texts refer only to other texts and not to real events,
then texts can be made to mean whatever we need them to mean as social constructs.
And if all claims to knowledge are just social constructs, only inventions,
then all meta-narratives should be regarded with suspicion.
And if all readings are about race, class, gender, and ultimately politics,
then there are no facts, only interpretations,
and therefore, all history-writing is fiction.
[1] Adapted from William G. Dever, “A Critique of Biblical Archaeology: History and Interpretation,” in The Old Testament in Archaeology and History, Editors Jennie Ebeling, J. Edward Wright, Mark Elliott, Paul V. M. Flesher, Baylor University Press, 2017, p. 150-151.
CerTitude 