Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense
This essay argues that there is no such thing as post-truth. We are by no means in the middle of an unprecedented epistemological crisis that keeps us from telling right from wrong. Rather, what we currently witness is a major breakdown of the institutions and mechanics of democratic society, trigge...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Association for American Studies
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15619 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1841558273747058688 |
|---|---|
| author | Klaus Benesch |
| author_facet | Klaus Benesch |
| author_sort | Klaus Benesch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay argues that there is no such thing as post-truth. We are by no means in the middle of an unprecedented epistemological crisis that keeps us from telling right from wrong. Rather, what we currently witness is a major breakdown of the institutions and mechanics of democratic society, triggered by an encompassing technological transformation that affects both our public and private lives. Even if the challenges for rational public discourse are real, they should not be countered by philosophy but by concerted, serious interventions in the political arena. This essay’s approach to the issue of post-truth, therefore, is threefold: First, it looks at how most of us in the West have come to agree on certain truths about truth. Second, since the notion of post-truth is often invoked to expose someone who fails to speak the truth (rather than to demote the concept of truth altogether), it refers to the Greek tradition of parrhesia as discussed by the late Michel Foucault. And thirdly, this essay comments on the alarming rise of anti-professionalism. Long before neoconservatives waged war on the university, the erosion of expertise has been fostered, according to Bruno Latour, by forces unleashed within the humanities itself. Yet there is little evidence, this essays concludes, that humanist critical thinking is driving the current post-truth crisis and that postmodernist efforts to rethink and question modernist forms of critique should be undone altogether. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-acd90743818347999bb022e71a54ddb0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-acd90743818347999bb022e71a54ddb02025-01-06T09:09:01ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362020-05-0115110.4000/ejas.15619Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-SenseKlaus BeneschThis essay argues that there is no such thing as post-truth. We are by no means in the middle of an unprecedented epistemological crisis that keeps us from telling right from wrong. Rather, what we currently witness is a major breakdown of the institutions and mechanics of democratic society, triggered by an encompassing technological transformation that affects both our public and private lives. Even if the challenges for rational public discourse are real, they should not be countered by philosophy but by concerted, serious interventions in the political arena. This essay’s approach to the issue of post-truth, therefore, is threefold: First, it looks at how most of us in the West have come to agree on certain truths about truth. Second, since the notion of post-truth is often invoked to expose someone who fails to speak the truth (rather than to demote the concept of truth altogether), it refers to the Greek tradition of parrhesia as discussed by the late Michel Foucault. And thirdly, this essay comments on the alarming rise of anti-professionalism. Long before neoconservatives waged war on the university, the erosion of expertise has been fostered, according to Bruno Latour, by forces unleashed within the humanities itself. Yet there is little evidence, this essays concludes, that humanist critical thinking is driving the current post-truth crisis and that postmodernist efforts to rethink and question modernist forms of critique should be undone altogether.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15619concept of post-truth; modernist vs. postmodernist critique; crisis of the humanities; anti-professionalism; Michel Foucault and the politics of parrhesia |
| spellingShingle | Klaus Benesch Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense European Journal of American Studies concept of post-truth; modernist vs. postmodernist critique; crisis of the humanities; anti-professionalism; Michel Foucault and the politics of parrhesia |
| title | Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense |
| title_full | Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense |
| title_fullStr | Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense |
| title_short | Is Truth to Post-Truth what Modernism Is to Postmodernism? Heidegger, the Humanities, and the Demise of Common-Sense |
| title_sort | is truth to post truth what modernism is to postmodernism heidegger the humanities and the demise of common sense |
| topic | concept of post-truth; modernist vs. postmodernist critique; crisis of the humanities; anti-professionalism; Michel Foucault and the politics of parrhesia |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/15619 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT klausbenesch istruthtoposttruthwhatmodernismistopostmodernismheideggerthehumanitiesandthedemiseofcommonsense |