Lee McIntyre — philosopher at Boston University and author of several books on science denial — provides in this slim MIT Press Essential Knowledge volume the most philosophically rigorous analysis of the post-truth concept available. He traces the genealogy of post-truth through the science denial movements of the 1980s and 1990s (tobacco, climate) through postmodern relativism and into the contemporary media environment, arguing that what is distinctive about the current moment is not the existence of falsehood in public discourse but the explicit attack on the idea that truth matters at all.
The distinction is important and underappreciated in the disinformation literature: the goal of contemporary information operations is often not to persuade audiences of specific false propositions but to create the conditions in which all claims are treated as equally suspect — a generalised epistemic nihilism that serves the interests of those who want to avoid accountability. McIntyre's philosophical framework for understanding this dynamic, and his argument about what is required to defend epistemic standards in a democratic society, provides essential theoretical grounding for practitioners working on counter-disinformation strategy. Pair this with his later On Disinformation for the full arc of his thinking.
Cogitavi commentary
Lee McIntyre — philosopher at Boston University and author of several books on science denial — provides in this slim MIT Press Essential Knowledge volume the most philosophically rigorous analysis of the post-truth concept available. He traces the genealogy of post-truth through the science denial movements of the 1980s and 1990s (tobacco, climate) through postmodern relativism and into the contemporary media environment, arguing that what is distinctive about the current moment is not the existence of falsehood in public discourse but the explicit attack on the idea that truth matters at all.
The distinction is important and underappreciated in the disinformation literature: the goal of contemporary information operations is often not to persuade audiences of specific false propositions but to create the conditions in which all claims are treated as equally suspect — a generalised epistemic nihilism that serves the interests of those who want to avoid accountability. McIntyre's philosophical framework for understanding this dynamic, and his argument about what is required to defend epistemic standards in a democratic society, provides essential theoretical grounding for practitioners working on counter-disinformation strategy. Pair this with his later On Disinformation for the full arc of his thinking.