In an age of misinformation and confusion, philosophy could help to create a better world

We are now witnessing the most dangerous assent of public division since the Second World War. We need to do all we can to enlighten one another, argue Joshua Forstenzer and Magid Magid

We live in a world of misinformation (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Experts aren’t exactly in vogue these days. From Brexit to the climate emergency and Covid-19, much of the media, swathes of the public, and quite a few politicians have had “enough” of listening to experts (in Michael Gove’s infamous phrase).  

The technocratic confidence which characterised pre-2008 politics and begrudging acceptance of expert-approved cruel austerity measures in the subsequent years has been replaced by a loss of faith in even the most basic standards of truth in public discourse. Things that were said, stuck to the side of buses, shouted at rallies are denied or disavowed as quickly and seamlessly as one changes one’s shirt.

Lies are repeated over and over again and carried at the speed of clicks (and algorithmic bots) across the internet, until no one can tell whether the speaker even believes what is being said or just thinks it is good to be seen to have said it. All that seems to matter is that enough people are swayed in the moment, just long enough to force whichever trite and bigoted nonsense is in fashion these days within sub-parts of – let’s face it – mostly right-wing political parties (typically, beholden to a small faction of aggressive nativists) across the democratic world.