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Guy Redden, "Transcending Progress: New Age Transformation in an Uncertain World" There has been considerable debate as to whether the New Age movement is better described as modern or postmodern. On the one hand it seems to promise restoration of a modern-style unitary subject, and, broadly speaking, it offers an optimistic, progressivist view of history. Yet, New Agers also acknowledge the relativity of knowledge and urge people to embark on their own personal paths of growth by trying out and combining various forms of belief and practice. In this sense, they seem as incredulous as the next postmodern bricoleur. This paper argues that New Age theories of transformation combine relativism and progressivism to create a models of personal development germane to the individualised/pluralised social milieu of the contemporary West. A common dimension of narratives of transformation is the stress placed on the growth of the true or "inner" self, which is depicted as a superior source of guidance to external ones. It is supposedly able to interpret the underlying significance of life experiences and deduce overall purpose in the ways that they unfold. Hence, transformed individuals discover what is right for them. Mastery of ones unique destiny is viewed as the ultimate outcome of such enhanced individual hermeneutic ability. In other words, New Ageism represents the inner self as a final arbiter of reliable knowledge and a transcendental ground for making right choices in a relativistic environment. These personalised epistemological foundations underlie a model of personal realisation that has particular appeal in an advanced liberal milieu in which traditional sources of moral guidance and generic forms of destiny are increasingly supplanted by the obligation to make choices and reflexively plan one's life. Biography: After graduating with an MA in Critical and Cultural Theory from Cardiff, Wales, Guy spent five semesters teaching at Prince of Songkla University in Thailand before arriving at the University of Queensland, where he is studying for a Ph.D. in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History. His academic interests include globality. |
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