Postmodernism is a philosophy that cannot be nailed down to any specific definition. The very notion of attempting to fix a meaning to this philosophy is a direct attack to its fluidity. Postmodernism is both nothing and everything, the meaning with no meaning, chaotic harmony. Yet, within this ever-changing philosophy are a few general features of postmodernism that most postmodernists would agree are essential to its existence. .
Fragmentation is an important aspect of postmodern theory. There is no larger piece to connect the experiences of life too. What is and what happens, happens. To look to connect it to some greater theme or truth that spans across time and space is foolish because it does not exist. One way to approach fragmentation is to look at it as a jigsaw puzzle. Rather than trying to fit the pieces together to create a picture, drop them onto the floor (this example may not be the best example because to the postmodernist those pieces would not have had anywhere they were destined to go to begin with). The fallen pieces, in no particular order or arrangement, are the picture. .
It is in this way that postmodern theory attacks and uproots the notion of truth. While its pre-cursor, modernism, is very similar to postmodernism, the two diverge at a several different junctures, one being the concept of an ultimate truth. Unlike the modernist, postmodernism adheres to the notion that there is no way to find any one, ultimate, all encompassing truth. The harder one tries to answer the questions that arise in life, the more questions that he or she will discover. The cycle is never ending. Ideas can only be formed if they are brought into the realm of the sign. Outside of this, they do not exist, or if they do exist, there is no way to know. Once idea falls into the realm of the sign, its credibility comes into question because it can only be looked at in terms of how it relates to other signs.