What can philosophy teach us about the post-truth condition

Abstract

Philosophers claim to be seekers of the truth but the matter is not quite so straightforward. Another way to see philosophers is as the ultimate experts in a post-truth world. They see ‘truth’ for what it is: the name of a brand ever in need of a product that everyone is compelled to buy. This helps to explain why philosophers are most confident appealing to ‘The Truth’ when they are trying to persuade non-philosophers, be they in courtrooms or classrooms. In more technical terms, ‘truth’-and the concepts surrounding it—are ‘essentially contested’ (Gallie 1956). In other words, it is not simply that philosophers disagree on which propositions are ‘true’ or ‘false’, but more importantly they disagree on what it means to say that something is ‘true’ or ‘false’.