ABSTRACT

This paper takes Lee McIntyre’s argument for post-truth and uses it to explain the contemporary rise of bad faith and bullshitting social actors. The paper then posits the critical realist metatheoretical framework of ontological realism, epistemic relativity, and judgemental rationality as a means of understanding the societal placement and the operation of bullshit and bad faith. Utilizing the CR concept of alethic truth (i.e. the correspondence of statements to reality) enables epistemologies to be judged on a standard of truth separate from the epistemology itself. Using this separation of truth from truth seeking techniques, the social processes inherent in epistemic communities and their translation into social epistemology are then examined in order put bullshit in its social place. The conclusion then discusses some suggested actions to begin to bolster epistemic communities and their associated institutional forms, as well as supporting the production and use of individuals’ judgmental rationality.

摘要

本文采用 Lee McIntyre 的后真相论点，并用它来解释当代社会恶意和胡说八道行为者的兴起。然后，本文将本体实在论、认识论相对性和判断理性的批判实在论元理论框架作为理解社会定位以及胡说八道和恶意行为的一种手段。利用真实真理的 CR 概念（即陈述与现实的对应关系）使认识论能够根据独立的真理标准进行判断从认识论本身。使用这种将真理与寻求真理的技术分开，然后检查认知共同体中固有的社会过程及其向社会认识论的转化，以便将胡说八道置于其社会地位。结论然后讨论了一些建议的行动，以开始支持认知共同体及其相关的制度形式，以及支持个人判断理性的产生和使用。