Is postmodernism to blame for the rise of the post-truth era? At first glance that seems very hard to believe. When we see Kellyanne Conway talking about “alternative facts” or Rudy Giuliani saying “truth isn’t truth,” we don’t immediately assume they’ve been busy reading Jacques Derrida.
This is a pretty terrible time to be a fan of truth. Politicians have always lied, of course, but few have dared to deny the verifiably obvious, such as the size of an inauguration crowd. Few have perpetuated conspiracy theories, such as the one about Obama’s place of birth.
后现代主义是否应该像哲学家丹尼尔·丹尼特(Daniel Dennett)所说的那样，为美国当前的政治状况负责?还是说，对真相和谎言之间区别的不尊重早在后现代主义之前就存在了?我们是否应该感谢后现代主义给了我们理解当前政治的框架和词汇?