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Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Contextualises post-truth and 'fake news' within the philosophical discourse of truth
  • Explores the threat of a politics based on post-truth on the tradition of liberal democracy
  • Provides a rigorous defence of the political and philosophical virtues of holding to the truth

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
  2. Introduction: Truth Will Out?

    • Stuart Sim
    Pages 1-9
  3. The Post-Truth Landscape

    • Stuart Sim
    Pages 11-39
  4. The Pre-History of Post-Truth

    • Stuart Sim
    Pages 41-62
  5. A Post-Liberal Society?

    • Stuart Sim
    Pages 139-153
  6. Conclusion: Countering Post-Truth

    • Stuart Sim
    Pages 155-170
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 171-175

About this book

This book examines the concept of post-truth and the impact it is having on contemporary life, bringing out both its philosophical and political dimensions. Post-truth is contextualised within the philosophical discourse of truth, with particular reference to theories of scepticism and relativism, to explore whether it can take advantage of these to claim any intellectual credibility. Sim argues that post-truth cannot be defended on either sceptical or relativistic grounds – even those provided by recent iconoclastic philosophical movements such as poststructuralism and postmodernism. The affinity between post-truth and conspiracy theory is emphasised, and the extent to which post-truth plays a role in religious doctrine is also considered. Post-truth is seen to constitute a threat to liberal democratic ideals and our Enlightenment heritage, raising the question of whether we are moving into a post-liberal age where the far right would hold power. To prevent this, post-truth urgently needs to be countered.



Reviews

“The book is overall interesting and informative to read. ... Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power is a good read for people interested in gaining insight into post-truth.” (Anne Braune, KULT_online - Review Journal for the Study of Culture, Issue 62, November, 2020)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Stuart Sim

About the author

Stuart Sim retired as Professor of Critical Theory at Northumbria University, 2013. He is widely published in the fields of critical theory, philosophy, and literary studies, and is a Fellow of the English Association. Recent publications include The Edinburgh Companion to Critical Theory (ed., 2016) and Twenty-First Century Puritanism (2018). 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power

  • Authors: Stuart Sim

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15876-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-15875-0Published: 11 April 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-15876-7Published: 02 April 2019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VII, 175

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Epistemology, Postmodern Philosophy, Political Philosophy

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access