liberal irony - pursuing
life as if it had
ultimate meaning while knowing that it ultimately doesn't
While postmodernity makes sense in theory, actually living one's life seems to require at least a bit of "working belief" in the meaningfulness of our actions on some objective score - or a cheerful willingness to ignore the contradiction between intellectually supporting the idea that truth is relative and created, while in point of fact pursuing goals that presuppose truth.
Why does postmodern irony exist?
Possibilities:
1) We are stuck between paradigms, and postmodern irony is an artifact of the transition. It occurs when people try to embrace postmodern philosophy while at the same time "just get on" with their modern life. This sense of duality will fall away as people truly let go of their modern grasping at final meaning and ultimate purpose and embrace the contingency of human experience.
2) Irony is an intrinsic part of living within the postmodern framework. Humans just can't handle living without meaning. (Although nothing is really intrinsic in postmodernity. And look, I'm making all sorts of claims about the nature of humanity - I sound positively modern. Huh, how ironic.)