Post-truth Politics, Responsible Irresponsibility and Ethics : Postmodernist Philosophers Revisited
Fridlund, Patrik LU
(2020)
In Revue philosophique et théologique de Fribourg
67(2).
p.362-381
- Abstract
- The notion of ‘post-truth’ has attracted considerable interest both in academic and political circles, as well as in public debate more generally. A ‘post-truth society’ has been defined as a society in which ‘“objective facts” are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. This also implies a society in which fake news is disseminated on purpose and where obviously false statements are justified as ‘alternative facts’. A consequence of this is that nothing can be trusted and that nothing is what it seems to be; everything is floating. Postmodern theory in particular is frequently blamed for legitimatising this political and societal phenomenon. There are certain traits in ‘postmodernism’ that... (More)
- The notion of ‘post-truth’ has attracted considerable interest both in academic and political circles, as well as in public debate more generally. A ‘post-truth society’ has been defined as a society in which ‘“objective facts” are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. This also implies a society in which fake news is disseminated on purpose and where obviously false statements are justified as ‘alternative facts’. A consequence of this is that nothing can be trusted and that nothing is what it seems to be; everything is floating. Postmodern theory in particular is frequently blamed for legitimatising this political and societal phenomenon. There are certain traits in ‘postmodernism’ that apparently lend themselves to this, but this branch of philosophy may also be the most appropriate starting point for resisting a ‘post-truth society’, as it seems that it is not possible to rebut false statements simply by pointing at ‘the real truth’, which is inefficient, insufficient and even counter-productive and conceptually problematic. If political discourses are not built upon the logic of the fact but on what effect a statement produces, then political discourses are better characterised as ‘performative’ in the sense of doing rather than reporting. This essay proposes that politics is about campaigning for a different state of affairs using arguments stated as if they were true, and yet necessarily formed by the imagination. There is, thus, an obligation to argue in an irresponsible manner—irresponsible in the sense of not being anchored to what is but to what is imagined, and projected as something possible and real. This provocative approach evokes the difficult question of how to evaluate political discourses and argue against what one believes is unacceptable. An ethical approach is suggested even though there is no simple formula to apply. This outline of an ethical approach has the responsible subject as a key. An implication of this is the obligation to investigate 'ethics without a particular given content' and 'the call to justice', based on readings of Jean-François Lyotard and Jacques Derrida. (Less)
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- author
- Fridlund, Patrik
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- post-truth politics, political discourses, Trump, performatives, irresponsible responsibility, Derrida, Lyotard, ethics
- in
- Revue philosophique et théologique de Fribourg
- volume
- 67
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 362 - 381
- project
- 'Post-truth' och postmodernism
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b83921a6-d9db-4c4b-8f22-8eb935a5cfd1
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-29 19:35:23
- date last changed
- 2021-02-23 17:03:14
@article{b83921a6-d9db-4c4b-8f22-8eb935a5cfd1,
abstract = {{The notion of ‘post-truth’ has attracted considerable interest both in academic and political circles, as well as in public debate more generally. A ‘post-truth society’ has been defined as a society in which ‘“objective facts” are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. This also implies a society in which fake news is disseminated on purpose and where obviously false statements are justified as ‘alternative facts’. A consequence of this is that nothing can be trusted and that nothing is what it seems to be; everything is floating. Postmodern theory in particular is frequently blamed for legitimatising this political and societal phenomenon. There are certain traits in ‘postmodernism’ that apparently lend themselves to this, but this branch of philosophy may also be the most appropriate starting point for resisting a ‘post-truth society’, as it seems that it is not possible to rebut false statements simply by pointing at ‘the real truth’, which is inefficient, insufficient and even counter-productive and conceptually problematic. If political discourses are not built upon the logic of the fact but on what effect a statement produces, then political discourses are better characterised as ‘performative’ in the sense of doing rather than reporting. This essay proposes that politics is about campaigning for a different state of affairs using arguments stated as if they were true, and yet necessarily formed by the imagination. There is, thus, an obligation to argue in an irresponsible manner—irresponsible in the sense of not being anchored to what is but to what is imagined, and projected as something possible and real. This provocative approach evokes the difficult question of how to evaluate political discourses and argue against what one believes is unacceptable. An ethical approach is suggested even though there is no simple formula to apply. This outline of an ethical approach has the responsible subject as a key. An implication of this is the obligation to investigate 'ethics without a particular given content' and 'the call to justice', based on readings of Jean-François Lyotard and Jacques Derrida.}},
author = {{Fridlund, Patrik}},
keywords = {{post-truth politics; political discourses; Trump; performatives; irresponsible responsibility; Derrida; Lyotard; ethics}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{362--381}},
series = {{Revue philosophique et théologique de Fribourg}},
title = {{Post-truth Politics, Responsible Irresponsibility and Ethics : Postmodernist Philosophers Revisited}},
volume = {{67}},
year = {{2020}},
}