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No funeral bells: Public reason in a 'post-truth' age
Sheila Jasanoff1, Hilton R Simmet2
1Program on Science, Technology & Society, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Social Studies of Science
|October 17, 2017
Summary
The concept of "post-truth" is flawed as it ignores history and the co-production of knowledge in politics. Restoring truth requires government accountability for public fact generation and democratic deliberation.
Area of Science:
- Political Science
- Sociology of Knowledge
Background:
- The term 'post-truth' suggests a departure from enlightened governance and a loss of a factual past.
- This framing is often presented as a recent, unprecedented phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critique the ahistorical framing of 'post-truth'.
- To analyze the co-production of knowledge and norms in political contexts.
- To re-evaluate the role of facts in democratic societies.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of the term 'post-truth'.
- Examination of how public facts are intertwined with social meanings and political values.
- Exploration of the normative dimensions of policy-related facts.
Main Results:
- The 'post-truth' narrative is flawed because it overlooks historical precedents and the inherent subjectivity in defining public facts.
- Policy facts are normative, reflecting choices about relevant experiences, institutional values, democratic contestation, and future societal visions.
- Debates over facts are fundamentally debates about social meanings and values.
Conclusions:
- Challenging the simplistic 'post-truth' dichotomy is crucial for understanding contemporary political discourse.
- Restoring truth in democracy necessitates holding governments accountable for the origins and justification of public facts.
- Emphasizing democratic deliberation in the creation and use of facts is essential for a healthy polity.