Program notes – Episode 15 – The Assassination of Truth
1) An article from Chris Cillizza on truth in the 2016 US election
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-campaign-republican-us-election-2016-what-it-says-about-a7022276.html
2) Michael Deacon, writing in the Daily Telegraph (UK) on post-truth politics
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/09/in-a-world-of-post-truth-politics-andrea-leadsom-will-make-the-p/
3) Gay Alcorn’s article on post-truth politics and the irrelevance of facts from 2014
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/facts-are-futile-in-an-era-of-posttruth-politics-20140227-33m70.html
4) Richard Kreitner of The Nation giving some historical perspective on post-truth politics
https://www.thenation.com/article/post-truth-and-its-consequences-what-a-25-year-old-essay-tells-us-about-the-current-moment/
5) Sam Harris’ short book, “Lying” was a valuable background resource and is well worth your time to read – highly recommended
6) Paul Krugman’s article “The Post-Truth Campaign” from the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/opinion/krugman-the-post-truth-campaign.html
and a quote from the piece (that I didn’t include but is worth reading) … "[I]f past experience is any guide, most of the news media will feel as though their reporting must be 'balanced,' which means that every time they point out that a Republican lied they have to match it with a comparable accusation against a Democrat — even if what the Democrat said was actually true or, at worst, a minor misstatement."
7) Ralph Keyes (2004). “The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life”,
A highly recommended read. The pages I referred to are 127 and 128.
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My oblique reference to Kant’s stability came from Bruce’s Song, written by Eric Idle of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Do yourself a favor and watch Eric performing the piece in his living room – it’s on YouTube. Also, find the footage of the song being sung by the great Christopher Hitchens. He is sorely missed.
Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
Who was very rarely stable
Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
Who could think you under the table
David Hume could out-consume
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel
There's nothing Nietzche couldn't teach ya
'Bout the raising of the wrist
Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed
John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
Plato, they say, could stick it away
Half a crate of whiskey every day
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
Hobbes was fond of his dram
And René Descartes was a drunken fart
"I drink, therefore I am"
Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed
A lovely little thinker
But a bugger when he's pissed
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