Navigating Truth: Critical Thinking in a Post-Truth Era
School
Collin County Community College District**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
ECON 1302
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
5
Uploaded by UltraRiverOstrich55
During the 21stcentury, “post truth” has emerged as a force that has shaped the population’s views on politics during an era of increasing data and ideas. The Oxford English Dictionary has defined Post Truth as “relating to circumstances in which people respond more to feelings and beliefs than to facts”. At its core, it is also an expression of concern who think the concept of truth and feel are under attack. The ramifications of these attacks have been felt throughout politics, media, science, and culture. Although we are bred and shaped through bias and misinformation at a young age, individuals can still use critical thinking skills to pursue truth in a post-truth era to a great extent by the understanding not just what post truth is but that it exists in our society, the realization that post truth is caused by motivated reasoning, and by challenging post-truth beliefs with skepticism and the scout mindset. One-way individuals can use critical thinking skills to find truth is by understanding what post truth is, and by having the will to not just accept it exists but wanting neglect it. As explained earlier, post truth is the condition where beliefs and emotions are used instead of facts when shaping opinions and arguments. By accepting that this phenomenon occurs daily and controls much of our world, many individuals will want to natural search for the truth in a fact less society. This can only be achieved by accepting post truth exists and trying to step away from it. This can be related to the 3 types of listening levels, selective, reactive, and proactive. Accepting post truth exists lies in the first step of listening. Before even attempting to understand why it is occurring or how to fix it, you must first pick it out and select when someone is using their emotions or beliefs over a
known fact. Embracing this critical thinking skill will allow one to be one step closer in finding the truth and saving themselves in a post truth society. Another way one can use critical thinking skills to find truth in a post truth society is by making the connection that post truth is caused by motivated reasoning. Before making the connection, one must understand what motivated reasoning is. In Scout Mindset Chapter 1 by Julia Galef, motivated reasoning is explained as a process “In which our unconscious motives aRect the conclusions we draw.” Knowing this piece of information, are brain uses quick thinking skills and bias to come up with reasoning. This process can further be explained by the two types of systems our brain uses when thinking. They are called “System 1 and System 2” according to Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. System 1 is the associative part of the brain that makes connections and thinks using an automatic/ quick process. System 2 runs purely on logic and is a slower machine that uses its full engine. It is also mentioned that we use system 1 to navigate the world, even if system 2 might seem like the better option. Knowing that motivated reasoning is fueled by bias and system 1 thinking, we can tie this back to post truth by realizing that post truth is truly a negative factor in society that has no real backup from logic and is heavily influenced by one’s emotions, biases, early beliefs, and falsehoods that are not carefully thought through. One must not look at the symptoms, but the virus that that is spreading across every nation, when one realizes the motives behind post truth and that motivated reasoning is the virus, they can have a chance to save themselves and find truth in a post truth world.
The last way individuals can use critical thinking skills to find truth is by using the scout mindset and skepticism. When one finds acceptance and the virus behind the symptom, one can then inject the vaccine with the methods mentioned above. Post truth lies within our top ranks in society such as the government and media outlets. One of the most prominent examples that explains where post truth lies is the “tone at the top”. The “tone at the top” refers to the leaders or significant figures that push a certain culture or image in a society or form of government. Since they are heavily looked upon by many followers or members of a society, the beliefs they push will be followed and popularized. This is heavily used in corporations and businesses, the CEO or executives have the job to maintain the culture throughout the company through their own ethics, beliefs, and actions, even if the culture is unethical, it will still be followed by the employees because they have no other choice. The same exists in politics, one must follow either campaign or else their voice may not be heard. In “What is Post Truth”, the author explains that post truth can be understood in one word and why, “Trump. In a world in which politicians can challenge the facts and pay no political price whatsoever, post-truth is bigger than any one person.” This means that lies are found within our top ranks of the world and are set as the tone, when this occurs every follower is fooled by the infectious post truth, in which they are forced to believe. By using skepticism, one can challenge these cultural norms and provide facts instead of opinions and emotion to back up their argument. Instead of following the crowd and falling to the beliefs set in the ground by the tone at the top, one can choose to question exactly why these beliefs are set and if they are wrong or right/ facts or opinions. Another example where post truth lies is in our media, in the Social Dilemma,
the video explains that the main purpose behind most media is to persuade and change the viewers outlook on a certain topic. It is then mentioned that the employees posting these outlooks didn’t even realize they themselves were serving an unethical purpose and falling as servants to these big technological/ media companies. This could all be stopped if not only the viewers adapt a scout mindset, but also the employees adapt the scout mindset as well, the message wouldn’t even be put out there in the first place with such a prominent eRect that is seen throughout the country that is so interconnected with technology. This scout mindset of seeing for yourself the objective and factual form goes a long way specifically in media. Instead of listening to another’s post truth opinion, searching for information yourself will lead to one’s personal beliefs backed up by facts and truth only. At the end of the day, the truth can only be found by those that want to find the truth and not fall to the eRects of post truth. The hardest challenge that one must face is erasing all beliefs and opinions of their own that have been welded in one’s brain since a child and stick to strictly fact, then one will find truth in a post truth world. Galef, Julia. The Scout Mindset: See Things Clearly and Make Smarter Decisions. Portfolio Penguin, 2020. Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking Fast and Slow. Penguin Books, 2011. McIntyre, Lee C. Post-Truth. The MIT Press, 2018. “The Social Dilemma.”