The Political Theory Review Episode 183: Linda Zerilli - A Democratic Theory of Truth
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Aug 12, 2025 Linda Zerilli, a professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, dives into her book on democratic truth. She discusses the impact of misinformation in politics, particularly during the Trump era. Zerilli critiques fact-checking and the subjective nature of truth, drawing from Foucault and Arendt. The conversation explores the interplay between solitude and social processes in thinking, the importance of diverse voices in deliberative democracy, and challenges the post-truth landscape by advocating a reevaluation of truth through ordinary language.
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Limits Of Fact-Checking
- Linda Zerilli argues fact-checking alone can't solve post-truth because recognizing truth often lacks practical effects on behavior.
- She urges examining how truth's coercive force depends on political regimes rather than truth itself.
Truth's Power Depends On Its Regime
- Zerilli draws on Foucault to separate 'games of truth' (criteria) from 'regimes of truth' (social force enforcing truth).
- The regime determines whether acknowledging truth produces practical consequences, not truth itself.
Ancient Roots Of Epistemic Elitism
- Zerilli and Arendt link the crisis of frank speech (parrhesia) in fifth-century Athens to modern distrust of citizen opinion.
- Plato's retreat into the academy shifted truth away from public exchange, shaping today's suspicion of popular judgment.
