Convictions are where beliefs meet identity. But that can lead to trouble. Our supercharged politics make giving up a conviction feel like an act of self-betrayal and a betrayal of our tribe.
Articles on Truth
Displaying 41 - 60 of 74 articles
The programs that Americans of all political stripes like to watch seem to be united by a common theme.
We know that social media platforms have an incentive to promote whatever gets the most attention, regardless of its authenticity. We’re more reluctant to admit that the same is true of people.
More democratic forms of politics, journalism and fact-checking will be needed when we can no longer trust any video footage.
Three philosophers put up a booth at the entrance to a New York City subway, so people could come to them with questions. They got hit with some real zingers.
An evolutionary biologist makes the case that there’s no reconciling science and religion. In the search for truth, one tests hypotheses while the other relies on faith.
It would be great to know for sure when someone is lying and when someone is telling the truth. But no technology that purports to do so is foolproof.
Will we soon no longer be able to discern which videos are real and which are fake?
How medieval scientists grappled with the conflicting ‘truths’ of creationism and the eternity of the world.
Cognitive psychologists know the way our minds work means we not only don’t notice errors and misinformation we know are wrong, we also then remember them as true.
The best defence against post-truth politics is not ‘the truth’. Democracy should resist the political tyranny of claims to some immutable truth as a basis for governing the lives of others.
Perception of truth and lies changes between languages for bilingual speakers.
Dealing with a co-worker or manager who says demonstrably false things can be a challenge, particularly at holiday office parties. Here’s a guide to handle a colleague in denial.
As Orwell knew only too well, if the concept of objective truth is moved into the dustbin of history there can be no lies. And if there are no lies there can be no justice, no rights and no wrongs.
Will the arrival and popularity of Oculus Go and other VR systems make us think differently about alternative realities and so-called alternative facts?
We gave four scholars from different disciplines a chance to offer their opinions on this important question.
People universally believe scientists’ solar eclipse calendars, but vaccine warnings or climate predictions are forms of science that strangely do not enjoy equivalent acceptance.
Thoreau spent his life pursuing the ‘hard bottom’ of truth. But he confronted a sensationalist newspaper industry that, in many ways, mimicked today’s media environment.
Pundits have been keen to link post-truth to post-modernists, post-positivists or any other ‘postie’. They should turn their energy to forming a real popular front against Trump’s faux populism.
Beneath simple labels like post-truth, alternative facts and fake news is a complex set of issues. Any debate about the problems needs to start from some common points of reference.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Psychology, Vanderbilt University
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Professor of Screen Media, King's College London
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Professor in Psychology / Director of Research, Bangor University
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Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Media Arts and Technology, Southampton Solent University
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Research Associate, University of Manchester
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Research Fellow, Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Co-Director of the Centre for Engaged Philosophy, University of Sheffield
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Michael Hintze Chair of International Security, University of Sydney
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Dean of the Reed College of Media, West Virginia University
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Assistant researcher, University of Sydney
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Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Oregon
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Professor of Informatics and Computer Science, Indiana University
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Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan
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Associate Professor in the Department of Political Sciences and Director of the Centre for Mediation in Africa, University of Pretoria