Post-Truth | The MIT Press

How we arrived in a post-truth era, when “alternative facts” replace actual facts, and feelings have more weight than evidence. Buying Options ... Skiptomaincontent Breadcrumb Home Philosophy General Post-Truth FromTheMITPressEssentialKnowledgeseries Post-Truth ByLeeMcIntyre Howwearrivedinapost-truthera,when“alternativefacts”replaceactualfacts,andfeelingshavemoreweightthanevidence. AddtoCart BuyingOptions Buy Amazon(printorKindle) Buy Barnes&Noble Buy IndieBound Buy Indigo Buy Powell's Buy Waterstones Buy close CloseDrawer RequestPermissions Examcopy ReviewSmallArrow MybookoftheweekisPost-TruthbyLeeMcIntyre.ThisisaslendervolumefromMIT'sEssentialKnowledgeSeriesthatlooksatoneofthemostdisturbingtrendsofourtime:theincreasingdismissalofscience,evidence,facts,andtruthitself.Theauthorgivesusanintelligentaccountofwhyit'shappenedandacompellingreminderthatweshouldallfightbackagainstthisdangerousnihilisticidea.FareedZakariaCNN AwardSmallArrow Award WinneroftheCHOICEOutstandingAcademicTitlesfor2018 OnlineAttention SmallArrow MouseoverforOnlineAttentionData Overview Author(s) Praise Summary Howwearrivedinapost-truthera,when“alternativefacts”replaceactualfacts,andfeelingshavemoreweightthanevidence.Arewelivinginapost-truthworld,where“alternativefacts”replaceactualfactsandfeelingshavemoreweightthanevidence?Howdidwegethere?InthisvolumeintheMITPressEssentialKnowledgeseries,LeeMcIntyretracesthedevelopmentofthepost-truthphenomenonfromsciencedenialthroughtheriseof“fakenews,”fromourpsychologicalblindspotstothepublic'sretreatinto“informationsilos.”What,exactly,ispost-truth?Isitwishfulthinking,politicalspin,massdelusion,bold-facedlying?McIntyreanalyzesrecentexamples—claimsaboutinaugurationcrowdsize,crimestatistics,andthepopularvote—andfindsthatpost-truthisanassertionofideologicalsupremacybywhichitspractitionerstrytocompelsomeonetobelievesomethingregardlessoftheevidence.Yetpost-truthdidn'tbeginwiththe2016election;thedenialofscientificfactsaboutsmoking,evolution,vaccines,andclimatechangeoffersaroadmapformorewidespreadfactdenial.Addtothisthewired-incognitivebiasesthatmakeusfeelthatourconclusionsarebasedongoodreasoningevenwhentheyarenot,thedeclineoftraditionalmediaandtheriseofsocialmedia,andtheemergenceoffakenewsasapoliticaltool,andwehavetheidealconditionsforpost-truth.McIntyrealsoarguesprovocativelythattherightwingborrowedfrompostmodernism—specifically,theideathatthereisnosuchthingasobjectivetruth—initsattacksonscienceandfacts.McIntyrearguesthatwecanfightpost-truth,andthatthefirststepinfightingpost-truthistounderstandit. Paperback $15.95 T ISBN:9780262535045 240pp.|5inx7in February2018 Share Share Share email Authors LeeMcIntyre LeeMcIntyreisaResearchFellowattheCenterforPhilosophyandHistoryofScienceatBostonUniversity.HeistheauthorofDarkAges:TheCaseforaScienceofHumanBehavior,Post-Truth,andTheScientificAttitude:DefendingSciencefromDenial,Fraud,andPseudoscience,allpublishedbytheMITPress. Reviews MybookoftheweekisPost-TruthbyLeeMcIntyre.ThisisaslendervolumefromMIT'sEssentialKnowledgeSeriesthatlooksatoneofthemostdisturbingtrendsofourtime:theincreasingdismissalofscience,evidence,facts,andtruthitself.Theauthorgivesusanintelligentaccountofwhyit'shappenedandacompellingreminderthatweshouldallfightbackagainstthisdangerousnihilisticidea.FareedZakariaCNN Thisisagemofashorttreatise.LeeMcIntyre'sPost-Truthisaperfectcountertoaproblemthathaseruptedinournationalconsciousness—alternativefacts.McIntyre'senumeratedsuggestionsonhowwemustallbeourownfactcheckersinthispost-truthageshouldbetapedtothecomputerkeyboardofeveryjournalist,politician,andreaderinAmerica,beforethenextelection.MichaelShermerSkepticMagazine McIntyre'sbookisperhapsthemostthoughtfulofthepost-truthset....[He]arguespersuasivelythatourmethodsofascertainingtruth—notjustthefactsthemselves—areunderattack,andthatthisassaultisespeciallydangerous.CarlosLozadaWashingtonPost WhatIlikeaboutthisbook,whichismoreofaphilosophicaltour,isthattheauthorisn'tjustconcernedaboutthefateofparticularfactsortruths,buthethinkswhatisreallyunderassaulthereistheverymethodbywhichweascertaintruthorgettotruth,inparticular,science.CarlosLozadaPBSNewsHour Awards WinneroftheCHOICEOutstandingAcademicTitlesfor2018 AlsobythisAuthor HowtoTalktoaScienceDenier LeeMcIntyre Cart BuyingOptions TheScientificAttitude LeeMcIntyre Cart BuyingOptions OtherBooksinthisSeries SeeMore Placebos KathrynTHall Cart BuyingOptions Hunting JanDizardandMaryZeissStange Cart BuyingOptions Youmightalsolike StorytellingandtheSciencesofMind DavidHerman Cart BuyingOptions