News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

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stevie
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by stevie »

JackDaydream wrote: January 26th, 2022, 5:22 pm @stevie

...
I do have friends who believe in conspiracy theories in.a big way, which is why I think about the ideas. ...
The people one associates with always are a challenge for one's cognitive autonomy.
mankind ... must act and reason and believe; though they are not able, by their most diligent enquiry, to satisfy themselves concerning the foundation of these operations, or to remove the objections, which may be raised against them [Hume]
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JackDaydream
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by JackDaydream »

@stevie

Your idea that the people we associate with 'being a challenge for one's cognitive autonomy may be important. Often, I have heard it said that people choose friendships with people who have similar views. However, if I think about it, in most of the people I gravitate towards are people who have fairly extreme ideas and opinions, so I am most likely seeking a challenge. It may be that others do too, although I am not sure that everyone is looking for 'cognitive autonomy' because it may be safer to stick to unchallenged thought. Autonomy of thought is a difficult process of weighing up ideas critically and making choices about what to believe on this basis, but it may be that philosophy is about this task, whether it is about politics or other values and perspectives.
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AmericanKestrel
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by AmericanKestrel »

JackDaydream wrote: January 24th, 2022, 8:51 am In this thread I am asking you to think about how you understand truth and lack of it in the mass media in the twentieth century. Do conspiracy theories have any sway on your understanding of what is happening in the world? How much and what is important to know? How can accurate and factual information be gathered from sources?
I look at news as a consumer product, not as a means to arrive at truth. 95% of what is reported, other than weather or death, does not seem to be of much consequence to my life as I live it. It may make me very sad, but there is not much I can actually do about it, and the little that I can do, I do. I vote. I give to shelters for the homeless and food pantries. I reduce my use of plastic and paper, and waste less.
I don't see conspiracy theories that differently from news. They are absurd and causes great harm when some mad people decide to act on it, which then becomes news, peddled by the same news media we dont trust. Mad and angry people do nasty stuff even without conspiracy theories.
How much and what is important to know:
How many inches of snow will fall tomorrow?
Will supermarkets be open and can I get milk and eggs?
What do I need to do to be able to get on a plane and go see my kids?
I cannot think of anything more important than these.
"The Serpent did not lie."
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JackDaydream
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by JackDaydream »

@American Kestrel

In some ways, news can be a commodity. I remember how one newspaper in England kept making all kinds of weather predictions which never ever happened. The news can include fantasy speculations but the problem is that it may be getting to the point where people have had enough of gloom and terror.

I guess that there is the lighter side of news, which is that of celebrities. The tales of the rich and famous and the wild life of rock stars can be a form of entertainment and fantastic speculation. In this way, it forms part of cultural myth. Even the depiction of disasters is like a postmodern broken down stories and the pictures people in distant countries. It may give people a sense that knowing what is going on but of course it is only snapshots, so in that sense is like the mythical narrative on which understanding and ideas underlying the structure on which political mythologies are built and perpetuated.
Good_Egg
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by Good_Egg »

Seems to me that elemental facts can be true or false. But most of the facts aren't actually very interesting unless they are interpreted into part of a story or narrative. And a story is often too complex a thing to be entirely true or entirely false.
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Pattern-chaser
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by Pattern-chaser »

JackDaydream wrote: January 28th, 2022, 6:37 am In some ways, news can be a commodity.
News is now divorced from fact and truth; it is lies and misdirection, created for nefarious reasons.
Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"
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JackDaydream
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Re: News, Conspiracy and Post Truth: What is Happening in the World?

Post by JackDaydream »

@Pattern-chaser

It is interesting that you make the comment about news being about lies at this point, because I was expecting that response on the forum right away. It is likely that there are lies in news but the problem which I see is that it is hard to work out what is a lie and what is the truth, because it seems important to have some kind of accuracy, just as it is important to have some firm basis in logic and clear thinking in philosophy. With news, I find the best approach to read many accounts, but sometimes it seems much easier to not pay attention to the news at all. I have days when I don't look at the news at all and often feel better for doing this. But, some people watch the news so much and read newspapers rather than books daily. The worst thing can be the 24 hour news channel because it was constant repetition.
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