Why Truth Matters

Truth has always been a central preoccupation of philosophy in all its forms and traditions. Yet in the late twentieth century truth became suddenly rather unfashionable. The precedence given to assorted political and ideological agendas, along with the rise of relativism, postmodernism and pseudoscience in academia, led to a decline both of truth as a serious subject, and an intellectual tradition that began with the Enlightenment. Why Truth Matters is a timely, incisive and entertaining look at how and why modern thought and culture lost sight of the importance of truth. It is also an eloquent and inspiring argument for restoring truth to its rightful place. Jeremy Stangroom and Ophelia Benson, editors of the successful butterfliesandwheels website—itself established to "fight fashionable nonsense"—identify and debunk such senselessness, and the spurious claims made for it, in all its forms. Their account ranges over religious fundamentalism, Holocaust denial, the challenges of postmodernism and deconstruction, the wilful misinterpretation of evolutionary biology, identity politics and wishful thinking. Why Truth Matters is both a rallying cry for the Enlightenment vision and an essential read for anyone who's ever been bored, frustrated, bewildered or plain enraged by the worst excesses of the fashionable intelligentsia. Truth has always been a central preoccupation of philosophy in allits forms and traditions. Yet in the late twentieth century truth became suddenly rather unfashionable. The precedence given to assortedpolitical and ideological agendas, along with the rise of relativism, postmodernism and pseudoscience in academia, led to a decline both of truth as a serious subject, and an intellectual tradition thatbegan with the Enlightenment.Why Truth Matters is a timely, incisive and entertaining look at how and why modern thought and culture lost sight of the importance of truth. It is also an eloquent and inspiring argument for restoring truth to its rightful place. Jeremy Stangroom and Ophelia Benson, editors of the successful butterfliesandwheels website-itself established to'fight fashionable nonsense'-identify and debunk such senselessness, and the spurious claims made for it, in all its forms. Their account ranges over religious fundamentalism, Holocaust denial, the challenges of postmodernism and deconstruction, the wilful misinterpretation of evolutionary biology, identity politics and wishful thinking.Why Truth Matters is both a rallying cry for the enlightened vision and an essential read for anyone who's everbeen bored, frustrated, bewildered or plain enraged by the worst excesses of the fashionable intelligentsia. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 7 Preface 8 1 The Antinomies of Truth 14 2 Truth, Doubt and the Philosophers 35 3 The Truth Radicals 57 4 The Social Construction of Truth 78 5 Politics, Ideology and Evolutionary Biology 96 6 Wishful Thinking and Epistemological Confusion 120 7 Institutions, Academe and Truth 148 8 Why Truth Matters 174 Notes 196 Index 210 A 210 B 210 C 211 D 211 E 211 F 211 G 212 H 212 I 212 J 212 K 212 L 213 M 213 N 213 O 213 P 213 Q 213 R 214 S 214 T 214 V 214 W 214 Y 215 The Authors Present A Philosophical Case For The Importance Of Truth That Draws On Writings By Philosophers, Anthropologists, Poets, And Scientists. The Antinomies Of Truth -- Truth, Doubt And The Philosophers -- The Truth Radicals -- The Social Construction Of Truth -- Politics, Ideology And Evolutionary Biology -- Wishful Thinking And Epistemological Confusion -- Institutions, Academe And Truth -- Why Truth Matters. Ophelia Benson And Jeremy Stangroom. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Truth has always been a central preoccupation of philosophy in all its forms and traditions. This work takes a look at how and why modern thought and culture lost sight of the importance of truth. It is intended for those who have ever been bored, frustrated, bewildered or plain enraged by the worst excesses of the fashionable intelligentsia