Fragments of Truth and Post-Truth: An Associative Collage

Abstract

This set of fragments provides a glued-together patchwork of key ideas about truth and post-truth. It contains a critique of notions of reified Truth and shows that it is our understanding of ordinary truth which matters. “Post-Truthers” refers to those who believe we have passed the stage when pure or objective Truth is a useful issue to explore. “Post-Truthers” are challenged because of their tendency to parade their feelings as important truths. A provisional conclusion is that ordinary, quotidian truth is what matters to us as citizens of well-functioning democracies.

Jottings From a Blockdown Journal

“…to read your rubbish Tell the truth as you see it-Everyday meat and potato truth (Lamott) Use your own voice-fakes are caught out (Lamott) Practice, compose, string words together like beads to tell a story (Lamott) Take it bird by bird (Lamott) Keep it simple, recycle, write a letter Remember: perfectionism blocks, oppresses, stops playfulness Shape, edit, highlight or toss it away (Lamott) One thing I decide to do that is not on this list is a structural solution (see above January 1, 2020, Still blocked-down on Truth). I'll turn Truth and Post-truth into a collage of fragments which form an association with one another because they are in various ways conceptually connected (after Hyde, 2019, and see Badley, 2020b). So I begin to reassemble and rewrite my Truth and Post-truth fragments into what I think is a more coherent and convincing narrative.…”

“…I so enjoyed Martin Hammersley's (2019) paean to populist epistemology that I wanted to retrieve my Trumpery rant from QI to include his accusation of Trump as Denying all positive appeal to "reality," rigorous in pursuit of his own "truths." Eventually these ironic words of triumph find their way into my Truth article (see Badley, 2020b). On January 15, I note "In a world where ideology trumps science, post-truth is the inevitable next step" and "one must always fight back against lies" and "truth still matters, as it always has" (from McIntyre, 2018, pp.…”

Common—Reading—Placing—Writing

“…creating our own narratives of everyday truth , our own interpretations and perspectives, means admitting that the idea there is some unmediated access to truth, a god’s-eye view, out there, is a seductive fantasy (Badley, 2021a);…”