Post-Truth and a Critical Pedagogy of Trust

• In Event: Critical Education and Philosophy in a Post-Truth World

Abstract

This presentation uses Whitty and Joinson’s (2008) truth-lies paradox to analyse human aspects of the eternal dialectic between truth and lies in the digital age. It shows that post-truth fundamentally rejects the notion of truth, and replaces it with the notion of trust. Based on these conclusions, the presentation briefly examines the nature of trust and trustworthiness, and shows that the digital age has brought about an additional level of complexity.
In the field of traditional epistemology, this conclusion brings studies of post-truth in the realm of rationalism; in the field of social epistemology, it shows theoretical underpinnings of post-truth in collective production of knowledge. The presentation points towards the increased value of trust in the age of collective intelligences and social production of goods. It examines the relationships between trust and the will and concludes that post-truth thrives in an ambiguous space between truth and lie, between reason and instinct.
Moving on to information and communication science, the presentation explores relationships between post-truth and digital trust. It concludes that the problem of post-truth is not exclusively digital, and that its understanding lies beyond the digital realm. Finally, the presentation applies the data–information–knowledge–wisdom (DIKW) hierarchy and shows that post-truth is a poisonous public pedagogy oriented towards raising future generations of people with distorted worldviews, opinions, and ethical judgements. In response to post-truth, therefore, it points towards development of a critical pedagogy of trust that pays equal attention to data, information, and knowledge.

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Author

• Petar Jandric, Polytechnic of Zagreb