The Value of Truth
Apr 04, 2006The pursuit of truth is often thought to be "intrinsically" valuable. Scientists and philosophers, who eschew religious rationales for ...
The pursuit of truth is often thought to be "intrinsically" valuable. Scientists and philosophers, who eschew religious rationales for ...
Are you a tax-raising, soy latte-drinking, Prius-driving, New York Times-reading, Daily Show-watching, corporation-hating liberal?
Most of us think we know the truth when we see it. But what exactly is truth, anyway? Philosophers have offered a blizzard of different...
Is there such a thing as absolute truth, independent of who is doing the thinking, and where? Or is truth relative to backgrounds, cultures, creeds, times, and places?
Everywhere we look -- in the media, in our political campaigns, in the hallowed halls of the academy -- we are confronted with an endle...
Politics, especially American politics, puts pressure on words like "liberal", "conservative" and "values" as they are used more as weapons than as tools for communication.
Allegedly independent radio commentators taking money to spout the government line! Fake news reports being produced and distributed by...
If beliefs can be described as having a goal or purpose, then surely that is something like aiming at the truth.
You've probably heard about the dangerous effects of fake news, and the spread of sensational and targeted falsities. But what about "legitimate" news, one might still ask?
The pursuit of truth is often thought to be "intrinsically" valuable. Scientists and philosophers, who eschew religious rationales for ...
Are you a tax-raising, soy latte-drinking, Prius-driving, New York Times-reading, Daily Show-watching, corporation-hating liberal?
Most of us think we know the truth when we see it. But what exactly is truth, anyway? Philosophers have offered a blizzard of different...
Is there such a thing as absolute truth, independent of who is doing the thinking, and where? Or is truth relative to backgrounds, cultures, creeds, times, and places?
Everywhere we look -- in the media, in our political campaigns, in the hallowed halls of the academy -- we are confronted with an endle...
Politics, especially American politics, puts pressure on words like "liberal", "conservative" and "values" as they are used more as weapons than as tools for communication.
Allegedly independent radio commentators taking money to spout the government line! Fake news reports being produced and distributed by...
If beliefs can be described as having a goal or purpose, then surely that is something like aiming at the truth.
You've probably heard about the dangerous effects of fake news, and the spread of sensational and targeted falsities. But what about "legitimate" news, one might still ask?
Comments (4)
Harold G. Neuman
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 -- 10:22 AM
Many believe that fake newsMany believe that fake news is the love-child of a certain executive and his various assistants. I'm not certain, but, it seems to me that fake news has been on the scene for many years. Perhaps we ought to consider the totality of the circumstances, generally, and propaganda, specifically. Circumstantially, we use many kinds of artifice to sell others on our opinions and point(s)-of-view. Facts are used in many ways, often to the extreme of disproving things which are facially well-grounded. Propaganda is at least as old as World War I, and, to my simplistic thinking, it is the epitome of fakeness. I liked Frankfurt's take on bullshit, along with some of his other notions. Fake news, then, is mostly a re-incarnation of what we have seen before. Shows just how uncreative some people can be.
twashington0541
Thursday, September 14, 2017 -- 12:39 PM
I would argue that "fake newsI would argue that "fake news" is not an new device for popular opinion manipulation. The bizarre thing about all of this identification of "fringe news" is that it requires one side to have authority to define what the "truth is" in a particular context. When, in fact, if a truth requires a context, then it is no an absolute truth at all. If the truth is not absolute, then it is subject to change. If the it is subject to change, it is no more than an strongly opined belief that someone is conflating as a matter-of-fact about a situation that requires contextual relativity.
joranscot
Friday, September 29, 2017 -- 4:18 PM
One man's "fake news" isOne man's "fake news" is another man's "gospel truth" and conversely. So it has been for the millennia.
Harold G. Neuman
Sunday, January 19, 2020 -- 12:54 PM
I have been busy the past twoI have been busy the past two years. Writing essays; reading philosophers (old and newer); developing some of my own little caveats, admonitions and philosophical blurbs---the latter after reading those sorts of asides, as penned by some of the masters. And so, for your critique, edification and/or amusement, I give you:
Neuman's Trinity
I. A priori, for every point-of-view, there is a different one. II. A fortiori, if you are not a little curious, you have no business doing philosophy.
III. A posteriori, if you always keep your mouth shut, you will never say anything foolish. Or controversial. Or important...Think better, not harder.
I will attempt to offer these sorts of notions from time to time. They are mostly just for fun, but now and then, they may may make you 'think better, not harder'. I hope so anyway...