Putting an end to political nonsense
But the tricky part is not to explain ignorance, lying, cynicism, indifference, political spin, or even delusion. We have lived with these for centuries. Rather, what seems new in the post-truth era is a challenge not just to the idea of knowing reality but to the existence of reality itself.
Lee McIntyre • Post-Truth (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series)
A populace deprived of the ability to separate lies from truth, that has become hostage to the fictional semblance of reality put forth by pseudo-events, is no longer capable of sustaining a free society.
Chris Hedges • Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Truth, the provider of meaning and orientation, is also a narrative. We are very well informed, yet somehow we cannot orient ourselves. The informatization of reality leads to its atomization — separated spheres of what is thought to be true.
But truth, unlike information, has a centripetal force that holds society together. Information, on the oth... See more
But truth, unlike information, has a centripetal force that holds society together. Information, on the oth... See more
Noema • All That Is Solid Melts Into Information
But truth, unlike information, has a centripetal force that holds society together. Information, on the other hand, is centrifugal, with very destructive effects on social cohesion. If we want to comprehend what kind of society we are living in, we need to understand the nature of information.
Noema • All That Is Solid Melts Into Information
A public that can no longer distinguish between truth and fiction is left to interpret reality through illusion. Random facts or obscure bits of data and trivia are used either to bolster illusion and give it credibility, or discarded if they interfere with the message.
Chris Hedges • Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle
Truth was fake; fake was true. And that’s when the problem suddenly snapped into focus. Throughout recent centuries anyone growing up in a western democracy had believed that it was necessary to have facts. Without facts, societies could be extremely dark places. Facts were essential to informed debates, to progress, to coherence, to justice.