The Modernity Worldview Survey was a tool used to assess an individual’s perspective on modernity.
NB: This survey had been hosted at https://modernity-worldview.uc.r.appspot.com/ but is no longer active as of 28/4/2025. It may be reinstated in the future. Thanks to all who participated.
Through six carefully crafted questions, this non-judgmental survey illustrates the degree to which a person exhibits a propensity for Premodern, Modern, Postmodern, or Metamodern thought.
My working hypothesis? Somewhere between 50% and 75% of people in the West will score as predominantly Modern, with occasional elements of Premodernism. This survey is my attempt to prove (or disprove) that intuition. As responses roll in, I will publish aggregated averages and possibly share visualised summary data.
But what do these categories even mean? What does it signify to be Premodern, Modern, or Postmodern? And what exactly happened with Metamodernism? Let’s take a chronological approach—beginning with a disclaimer.
Disclaimer
This passion project began as an attempt to rationalise and make sense of Metamodernism, a trend that seemed prevalent a few years ago. I harboured scepticism about its claim to synthesise Modernism and Postmodernism—two perspectives that, to me, are fundamentally at odds. Yes, black and white might combine to form grey, but Metamodernism often felt like an attempt to mix oil and water or reconcile theists with atheists. It didn’t quite sit right.
That said, I suspect most people don’t spend much time caring about these labels—except for philosophers, intellectuals, and their pseudo-intellectual counterparts. The average person’s philosophical pondering likely hovers around zero. Philosophy, after all, is a luxury. It demands surplus time and minimal distractions.
One final note: Do not mistake these labels as markers of progress. The prefixes pre- and post- might suggest an evolutionary sequence, but the survey results will demonstrate that these are not mutually exclusive categories. It is not only normal to have beliefs spanning multiple categories, but also likely that one’s position might shift over time.
Premodernism
Premodernism is the worldview characteristic of pre-Enlightenment thought. Truth is objective and derived from a higher cosmic or divine order. Knowledge is best acquired through intuition and tradition, and values are determined by their alignment with tribal or societal norms.
Modernism
Modernism breaks from tradition, replacing superstition with scientific logic and reason. It champions science and technology as catalysts for progress. Truth is established through empirical validation and the pursuit of universal laws, and values are determined through objective principles.
Postmodernism
Postmodernism dismantles objectivity, replacing it with relativism and subjectivity. It questions the status quo and metanarratives, rejecting the notion of universal truths. Cultural traditions are viewed as relative rather than absolute, and values are inherently subjective. There is no singular, correct answer to social and cultural constructions.
Metamodernism
Metamodernism purports to integrate Modernism with Postmodernism. Given my scepticism, rather than define it outright, I will pose questions about its coherence:
- It claims truth is discovered empirically, yet shaped by personal perspective.
- It seeks universal principles but critiques them.
- It values reason while embracing doubt.
- It trusts science but interrogates tradition.
- It simultaneously declares values to be objective, relative, and subjective.
- Identity is both authentic and fluid.
What’s notably absent from this equation is the spiritual element Metamodernism purportedly aims to reintroduce, along with a sense of cosmic order, spiritual intuition, and the retrieval of lost sacred traditions.
Conclusion
This survey is a means to probe how people’s worldviews align with these categories—or if they fit at all. As data accumulates, it may validate, challenge, or redefine the assumptions underlying these distinctions. Where will you land? Let’s find out.
Philosophics 