Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power
"Professor Sim clearly cares for the truth; his is a patient exploration of the phenomenon of post-truth, and a rigorously argued defence of the political and philosophical virtues of holding to the truth. He traces the history of post-truth, following th
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Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power
Stuart Sim
Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power
Stuart Sim Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
ISBN 978-3-030-15875-0 ISBN 978-3-030-15876-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15876-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019935510 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Diego Schtutman/Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to Ben Hayes for all his help and advice in developing the project; to Brendan George and the team at Palgrave for providing such a supportive context for dealing with the material; and to Dr. Helene Brandon for providing much-needed encouragement over the course of the writing process, as she has done so consistently down the years.
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Contents
1 Introduction: Truth Will Out? 1 2 The Post-Truth Landscape 11 3 The Pre-History of Post-Truth 41 4 Faith, Truth and Post-Truth in Religious Belief 63 5 Philosophical Scepticism and Its Arguments for Relativism 79 6 Postmodern Relativism: Jean-François Lyotard Versus Jacques Derrida 97 7 ‘Truth Within a Fable’? Fiction, Truth and Post-Truth 125 8 A Post-Liberal Society? 139 9 Conclusion: Countering Post-Truth 155 Index 171 vii
1 Introduction: Truth Will Out?
Truth: it seems such a deceptively straightforward word and concept. It is about facts, what actually happened, what can be proved to have happened: no problem there, most of us would think. Facts and events can be interpreted in different ways and reported on in different ways (as they most definitely are by spin-doctors of all political parties, for example),
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