Modern life bombards us with information meant to convince and persuade. According to some recent work in philosophy, we have indeed come to live in a ‘post-truth era’, an era in which the truth of messages has become far less important than the intentions of the messenger. This module investigates phenomena such as fake news, ‘bullshit’, and propaganda. On the basis of analysis of current events as well as iconic examples in public discourse, the aim of the module is to develop students’ awareness of the modes of persuasion central in these phenomena and critical reasoning skills to counteract them.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Identify and understand important phenomena in the public discourse in which persuasion (rather than truth) is central. These phenomena might include those listed above as well as advertisement, rhetorical tricks, and common argumentation fallacies;
Critically assess modes of persuasion in the public discourse;
Debunk problematic instantiations of the public discourse.