http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/how-important-is-truth-in-democratic-politics/10119326 (http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/how-important-is-truth-in-democratic-politics/10119326)
QuoteOne of the great paradoxes of our time is that politicians who are serially, sometimes spectacularly loose with facts are most often praised by their supporters as being 'authentic', 'straight-talking', even 'truthful'. What is clear is that, for such people, 'truth' cannot be reduced to mere facts.
This may seem like a particularly modern problem ("alternative facts") but the problem of the relationship between truth and politics is as old as philosophy itself. As Plato and Aristotle both recognised, politics is the realm of opinion — which is to say, of relative or perspectival truth. And any attempt to impose an absolutist conception of truth can be devastating to a democratic political community just to the extent that it locates that 'truth' in one or another side of the political spectrum.
But the denial of certain facts that can be held in common, as Hannah Arendt insisted, is no less absolutist because it denies the possibility of a shared, comprehensible world within which we can deliberate together.
So what is 'truth' in democratic politics? What role does it play? And how might a more complex, textured understanding of kinds of 'truth' help us navigate this perplexing political moment?
Donald is authentic, a real person.
This is a deeper kind of truth you unbelievers don't understand.
Other episodes of The Minefield
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/ (http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/theminefield/)
I find "truth", "democratic" and "politics" difficult concepts to cope with in one sentence.
The first two, hmm, not so bad together. The last (as practiced in most administrations I know of) with either of the others . . .
Quote from: Dave on August 22, 2018, 12:15:59 PM
I find "truth", "democratic" and "politics" difficult concepts to cope with in one sentence.
The first two, hmm, not so bad together. The last (as practiced in most administrations I know of) with either of the others . . .
Thou shalt not lie Dave.
God said it and well he should because it's fundamental to a functioning society.
Ah no, they're the other group, you can say anything to them, we know what you really mean.
Quote from: Bad Penny II on August 22, 2018, 11:26:10 AM
Donald is authentic, a real person.
Yes, he is, that's the problem. I'm too literal minded to see "truth" as anything but facts, it's a big stumbling block.