Philosophy For Our Times After the End of Truth | John Searle, Hilary Lawson, Hannah Dawson
Aug 31, 2016
Join John Searle, a leading philosopher from UC Berkeley, Hilary Lawson, a critic of realism and founder of How the Light Gets In, and Hannah Dawson, a lecturer and author, as they tackle the crisis of truth in contemporary discourse. They explore how a generation shaped by postmodernism grapples with objectivity and meaning. The guests challenge the tyranny of truth claims, emphasizing the importance of narrative and wisdom over rigid realism. They also delve into how language and human categories influence our understanding of reality.
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Closure Replaces Objective Truth
- Hilary Lawson argues realism has failed and language cannot be directly hooked onto an independent reality.
- He proposes 'closure' as how we create useful, constrained narratives to intervene in the open world.
Epistemic Versus Ontological Distinction
- John Searle distinguishes epistemic objectivity (truth claims) from ontological subjectivity (kinds of existence).
- He argues perspectival claims don't preclude objective knowledge about a reality we presuppose to communicate at all.
Classroom Example Of Plural Truths
- Hannah Dawson recounts a classroom exercise where each pupil gave a different assembly account to show plural, selective truths.
- She uses this to argue historical representation is interpretative and cannot fully capture lived reality.
