The stratagems of post-truth

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of post-truth has become commonplace, a buzzword that is used to describe both the alleged overcoming of a previous state in which, apparently, truth was the norm, and to legitimize certain procedures that have much more to do with the sphere of power (including discursive power) than with the sphere of truth. This article analyses the foundations and ramifications of the concept of post-truth, by linking it with such notions as "(objective) facts”, the supposed decline of Europe, information in the digital environment and postmodernity. Departing from the aporetic nature of the dominant discourse around post-truth, its use is examined as a rhetorical stratagem that has a strong ideological baggage and is linked to conservative and regressive ways of thinking, in the theoretical and social as well as political and cultural realms. As a way of conclusion, the article proposes a dialectical approach to the notion of post-truth, that is, an approach that takes into account its rhetorical, political, material and ideological dimensions.