The Denial of Truth

We are confronted almost daily with the claim that truth—an empirical eventful and factual matter—does not exist.  In the place of truth and being called “truth” are made-up stories.  The truth is being displaced by a self-serving version of the facts.  Instead of truth we are being given prefabricated stories to suit the vested interest of some individual or group.

This denial of truth has long been with us. Every child caught or suspected of some negative act or behavior by his or her parents has engaged in the denial of truth (even George). It is not new.  It is commonplace commercially in our merchandising and advertising.  The claim made by the makers of Prevagen to improve memory is but one example. How can they make such a false claim and get away with it?  They simply add an asterisk which indicates that the drug has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and that the drug is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This gives the pharmaceutical company the right to falsehood, manipulation and exaggeration to enhance the sale of their product.  If you want  to fabricate your own truth, just add an asterisk that says that is precisely what you are doing!

This ploy in advertising has been transported into politics and slowly but surely is eating away at truth  (an empirical event or factual matter).  This, too, has been going on for a long time.  I remember the Johnson administration talking about “news management.” I recall the Nixon administration waging a fierce propaganda war against the media, claiming the “truth of the matter” concerning the war in Viet Nam and the Watergate episode—and their truth was a doctoring of the truth, a concoction of distortion and evasion to pursue their own agenda.  

Now, today, it is not simply the doctoring of truth per se, but the premise that truth is nonexistent, that truth is a fiction. “Fake News’ accusations only underscore this new phenomenon, the idea that there can be no thorough, fair, comprehensive discovery and chronicle of events, and that the handling of facts is always ideologically tainted.   This presumption that truth does not exist or cannot be uncovered abolishes scholarship and scientific research.  This is readily seen in Arizona where it is being recommended that the teaching of the  theory of evolution be removed from the public schools and in other circles (including members of congress) that reject the scientific facts about climate change.  The presumption that truth does not exist renders education, both teaching and learning—“partisan and farcical, and in the end, condemns and banishes all uses of human intelligence.”  

Iris of the Day