Thinking Activity : The Concept of Post-Truth

"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

- Plato (The Republic)

The above mentioned quote taken from Plato's 'The Republic' political treatise befits the era of 'Post-Truth' in which we have been living now.

"Some truth there was, but dash'd and brew'd with lies;

To please the fools, and puzzle all the wise."

- John Dryden (Absalom & Achitophel)

The word 'Post-Truth' is held to be the word of the year in 2016 by Oxford Dictionary. Let's, in a nutshell, have a definition of the vastly used word of the year 'Post-Truth :

'Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.'

The word has its own place in various aspects of social, political, religious and other least-visited premises of humankind as it deals with the pretence and fallacy of the era in which we live.

The so-called honorable politicians, be it of any democratic republic country, are reportedly said to have been the harbingers of such horrendous movements like 'The Post-Truth' movement. It has become a handy tool for the people who are in power to rip off the artless pages. In this blog we briefly overview some key aspects that is related to the impact of such practice upon the nation and its people.

☆ Presence of the 'Post-truth' approach in the Spheres of Political & Religious Dealings.

(1) Political Sphere :

It is universally known fact that polity of any country or nation is the base and root of all the dynamics of that nation. So, it must be hold above whatsoever personal motives and gains in order to protect the polity through their representatives who are none but the people we vote for to delegate our voice in the court of parliament. It again becomes quintessential to watch over the dynamics of how our politics is doing in the matter or well-being of the nation and its people; for that we must seek to ourselves whether we are mature enough to choose our representatives or not and on what basis we do choose them; if we are blindly driven by the emotional appeal prompted by the political leaders to bewilder us for their personal gains and choosing the so & so person as our representative, then we are going stark-down to destruction sooner or later. Now it has become clichéd and passé to refer to those old notions despising the accountability of a person who holds the power to lead the government of a nation, but one thing remains as common as it was used to be at the very time of when politics arose in the ancient Greeks in the first century BCE. During this time, the philosopher Plato wrote numerous dialogues about politics, asking about the nature of justice, what constitutes good government, and what is truly best for humanity. In order to rule over fools, you have to be the biggest one of them and must perform the fooleries.

Montesquieu is one of the most prominent French political philosophers in the eighteenth century. He is famous in the history of political thought for his notable formulation of 'separation of powers' as the most important precondition of political liberty and this idea he stated in his famous book 'The Spirit of Laws.'

Montesquieu is called Aristotle of the 18th century due to the following reasons: 

• He applied the Aristotelian method of inductive and historical tradition as Dunning says, “The method applied by Montesquieu in the solution of the.problem is that of Aristotle” Hence, he may be justly regarded as the Aristotle of the 18th century. 

• He paid attention to the influence of the physical environment on social institutions and life of men like Aristotle.

• Both Aristotle and Montesquieu classified several types of government on the basis of the number and the way in which these are ruled i.e. Monarchy, Republic and Despotism

• Montesquieu follows Aristotle by saying that law of society gives it peculiar and particular character as Aristotle paid long ago, that constitution determines the life and character of its people and with the change of constitution state becomes a different state.

• Both Aristotle and Montesquieu believed that fundamental types of constitutions may vary under the impact of local conditions as Indian, Britain follows parliamentary systems but differ with one another. Both wield a great influence as the theory of separation of power is enshrined in the Constitutions based on the American model.

☆ Political Reference to 'Absalom & Achitophel' Written by John Dryden :

When it comes to politics and diplomacy, we cannot forget the great political satire in English Literature : 'Absalom & Achitophel' written by the first poet laureate of England John Dryden in the year of 1681. Though the satire is in favour of then monarch King Charles II, but some of the quotes are quite befitting when we talk about political mess around us :

"Then they are left defenceless to the sword,

Of each unbounded arbitrary lord:

And laws are vain, by which we right enjoy,

If kings unquestion'd can those laws destroy."

He also describes a good characteristic of an ideal ruler or leader as follow :

"And pity never ceases to be shown

To him, who makes the people's wrongs his own."

And moreover, we will find people who aspire to hold the chair praising the people to lure them for votes, as Dryden asserts :

"Gainst form and order they their pow'r employ;

Nothing to build, and all things to destroy.

But far more numerous was the herd of such,

Who think too little, and who talk too much."

(2) Religious Sphere :

"By force they could not introduce these gods;

For ten to one, in former days was odds.

So fraud was us'd, (the sacrificers' trade,)

Fools are more hard to conquer than persuade."

- John Dryden (Absalom & Achitophel)

Great deal is to deal with religious 'post-truth' aspect, as it is seen worldwide so much substantial it happens to be. First thing first, the religion of any discipline consists of sets of rites, rituals, belief systems, and philosophy which has nothing to do with actual human experience; besides it creates limited and covert individual identities and thus collective ones. Amongst all such kerfuffle, if these sets of beliefs and observances happen to be, fortunately, human-centric, then danger is not presumed; but at the same time if so & so religion has even a bit of averse approach towards humanism, then it is certain for sure that it will ruin the very world as well as the people who oppose such foolery.

If we talk about the present scenario of any religion (be it major or minor,) we would find that one religion differs from the other in the matter of preaching and beliefs. So, as stated earlier that religion is a set of belief sans actual human experience, henceforth the question becomes necessary to be asked if we are not being fooled by the so-called self-acclaimed godman/godwoman or any person who deems him/her holy.

Religion has become a driving force which holds the power to unite people and to split them into so many proportions as well.

If we take any scripture from any religion, we are certain to see the statements which completely lack or may be partially, the scientific rationale. If we ask even two questions to it, it will collapse. There is a saying that so & so people of ancient time devised the religion in order to rule the mindless mass of the society of dunces; it may be true but there might have been something that led the ancestors to set such rules and regulations which are now believed to have been twisted and turned into bigotry and staunch religious dogmas. For instance, we have a word in Sanskrit related to religious fast practice 'फलाहार' (Falaahaar meaning to live on fruits only) but the tides of time and the volatileness of languages have turned it into the word (in Gujarati) 'ફરાળ' which does not generate any specific meaning at all. Moreover, in Indian culture, one would find two types of schools of thought which are Shrutis & Smritis. Here, Shrutis are the four Vedas, the eternal knowledge whereas Shrutis include the eighteen Puranas or other scriptures. Spiritual giants like Adi Shankaracharya as well as recent spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda had insistently discerned the difference of the both. So it is bounded by time and needs of that time, so we must not forget the advancement we behold in prevalent time, thus everything ancient must need a change, if not by persuasion, then by vigor and by force if needed. A true apostle must be a seeker of the truth, but not a bigot believer.

☆ The Short Poetic Reflection by Me on the Prevalent Religious Practices :

I have penned a few lines in the form of
a poetry as the reflection of pompous and insubstantial religious practices which tend to hoax people for the personal gains of so-called sacred people :

These are the Holy Father's sons,

Who hold the scriptures in their hands-

To scorn the passive multitudes,

Who serve the logic-less statements...(1)

All sacred scarfs and turbans great-

Have paved the way for doom and dread...(2)

- N. L. Amreliya

☆ Concluding the Argument :

So, it will definitely not do to encompass the wholeness of post-truth era at a time as so many aspects are yet to be verified and even recognized in which the post-truth ideas are staunchly prevailing, ranging from small units of people to bigger political parties on the planet.

None but one solution can be effective in order to uproot the terminal disease-like notion of post-truth, and it is that to acquaint people with 'the truth' and encourage them to cultivate scientific temperament in discerning things around. With adequate awareness of dynamics surrounding social life is necessary. Civic sense can also be considered apt to discern what is factual and what is fictitious in political spheres in which one lives and is connected directly or indirectly for sure.

☆ Memes & Videos Relating to Post-Truth Era :

Thank You!

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