The object of this study is the condition of knowledge in the most highly developed societies. I have decided to use the word postmodern to
describe that condition. The word is
in current use on the American continent among sociologies and critics; it designates the state of our culture
following the transformations which, since the end of the nineteenth century, have altered the game rules for science, literature, and the arts. The present study will place these transformations in the context of the crisis of narratives.