The paradigm shift from modern to postmodern thinking in the twentieth century characterizes conceptual shifts in a number of related areas: society and social structure, roles, subjectivity and agency, knowledge, space and time, causality, and social change (Milovanovic). Furthermore, it affects the thinking in multiple arenas, from the practicalùleadershipùto the spiritual and aestheticùreligion and art. In simple terms, modernist thought is characterized by a strong belief in rational thought and inquiry, due process of law, abstract rights and freedoms for all, and science (ôModernist vs. Postmodernist Thoughtö). Postmodernist thought is characterized by a distrust of and departure from most of the beliefs embraced by modernists, viewing traditional thought as flawed and the orderly ideas of the universe as only one aspect of thought rather than the definitive truth; where modernists see the universe as predictable and quantifiable, postmodernists see it as neither (ôModernist vs. Postmodernist Thoughtö). In essence, the modernist believes that there is only one foundation that critical theory can be based on, whereas the postmodernist believes that there are many foundations (Grassie). Modernism holds to traditional systems of philosophy, religion, and morality, and postmodernism is antithetical to those systems (ôPostmodernismö).
Two of the pivotal concepts that distinguish modernist from postmodernist thought are continuity and reality. The modernist concept of time-based linear continuity is absent from postmodern thinking. The postmodernist does not see things progressing on an incremental basis, but rather sees many dimensions existing at once. Reality is not a cut-and-dried concept that can be tied down, delineated clearly, and cross-indexed; it is a relative concept embodied in the catchphrase ôWhatÆs true for me.ö Reality to the postmodernist is self-defined and can be different for every personÃ...