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The constitution of knowledge : a defense of truth Cover Image Book

The constitution of knowledge : a defense of truth / Jonathan Rauch.

Rauch, Jonathan, 1960- (author.).

Summary:

"Disinformation. Trolling. Conspiracies. Social media pile-ons. Campus intolerance. On the surface, these recent additions to our daily vocabulary appear to have little in common. But together, they are driving an epistemic crisis: a multi-front challenge to America's ability to distinguish fact from fiction and elevate truth above falsehood. In 2016, Russian trolls and bots nearly drowned the truth in a flood of fake news and conspiracy theories, and Donald Trump and his troll armies continued to do the same. Social media companies struggled to keep up with a flood of falsehoods, and too often didn't even seem to try. Experts and some public officials began wondering if society was losing its grip on truth itself. Meanwhile, another new phenomenon appeared: cancel culture. At the push of a button, those armed with a cellphone could gang up by the thousands on anyone who ran afoul of their sanctimony. In this pathbreaking book, Jonathan Rauch reaches back to the parallel eighteenth-century developments of liberal democracy and science to explain what he calls the "Constitution of Knowledge"-our social system for turning disagreement into truth. By explicating the Constitution of Knowledge and probing the war on reality, Rauch arms defenders of truth with a clearer understanding of what they must protect, as well as why and how to do so."-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780815738862
  • ISBN: 0815738862
  • Physical Description: viii, 305 pages ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, [2021]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-287) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
1 "A terrible statement unless he gets away with it": Chaos and conformity have caused an epistemic crisis -- 2 State of nature: tribal truth: Bias, groupthink, and the epistemic war of all against all -- 3 Booting reality: the rise of networked knowledge: Outsourcing reality to a social network is humankind's greatest innovation -- 4 Constitution of knowledge: The operating system of the reality-based community -- 5 Disinformation technology: the challenge of digital media: Making the online world truth-friendly is difficult but doable -- 6 Troll epistemology: "flood the zone with shit": Disinformation is an old enemy with new weapons and powerful friends -- 7 Canceling: despotism of the few: Coercive conformity is corrupting the reality-based community -- 8 Unmute yourself: pushing back: Defending the Constitution of Knowledge requires confidence and counter-mobilization.

Search for related items by subject

Subject:
Fake news > United States > 21st century.
Truthfulness and falsehood.
Truth > Political aspects.
Social epistemology.
Knowledge, Sociology of.
Disinformation.
Information literacy.
Media literacy.
Social media > Political aspects.
Cancel culture > United States > 21st century.
Censorship > United States.
Freedom of speech.
Social media.
Censorship.
United States > Intellectual life > 21st century.
Genre:
Informational works.

Available copies

  • 3 of 3 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Onslow County Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Richlands Branch Library 323.443 RAU (Text) 36015000427837 Adult Nonfiction Available -

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MARC Record

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24514. ‡aThe constitution of knowledge : ‡ba defense of truth / ‡cJonathan Rauch.
264 1. ‡aWashington, D.C. : ‡bBrookings Institution Press, ‡c[2021]
264 4. ‡c©2021
300 . ‡aviii, 305 pages ; ‡c24 cm
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504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 267-287) and index.
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