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Truth and Post-Truth in Public Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2021

Frank Fischer
Affiliation:
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Summary

The phenomenon of post-truth poses a problem for the public policy-oriented sciences, including policy analysis. Along with “fake news,” the post-truth denial of facts constitutes a major concern for numerous policy fields. Whereas a standard response is to call for more and better factual information, this Element shows that the effort to understand this phenomenon has to go beyond the emphasis on facts to include an understanding of the social meanings that get attached to facts in the political world of public policy. The challenge is thus seen to be as much about a politics of meaning as it is about epistemology. The analysis here supplements the examination of facts with an interpretive policy-analytic approach to gain a fuller understanding of post-truth. The importance of the interpretive perspective is illustrated by examining the policy arguments that have shaped policy controversies related to climate change and coronavirus denial.
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Truth and Post-Truth in Public Policy
  • Frank Fischer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Online ISBN: 9781108854344
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Truth and Post-Truth in Public Policy
  • Frank Fischer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Online ISBN: 9781108854344
Available formats
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Truth and Post-Truth in Public Policy
  • Frank Fischer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
  • Online ISBN: 9781108854344
Available formats
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