![]() ![]() If truth is a problem now for everyone, if the idea seems empty or useless in ‘the era of social media’, ‘science denialism’, ‘conspiracy theories’ and suchlike, maybe that just means that ‘everyone’ has caught up to where philosophy was in 1922.īefore the 20th century, reflection on truth in Western intellectual and spiritual traditions usually exalted it. But philosophy of pragmatist, analytic and continental varieties lurched into the post-truth era a century ago. One might have hoped to turn to philosophy for a clarification of the nature of truth, and maybe even a celebration of it. And, of course, it’s often at stake in practical political debates and policy decisions, with regard to climate change or vaccines, for example, or who really won the election, or whom we should listen to about what. ![]() Truth is, plausibly, central to thought and communication in every case. To assert it is to claim that it is true. To believe that masks prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to take it to be true that they do. But truth is one of our central concepts – perhaps our most central concept – and I don’t think we can do without it. It is often said, rather casually, that truth is dissolving, that we live in the ‘post-truth era’. ![]()
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