A Social and Cultural Analysis of "Post-Truth" as Epistemology

2024 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21667
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 4:Geography, cultural anthropology, folklore, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Ota Yoshinobu 九州大学, 比較社会文化研究院, 特任研究者 (60203808)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 杉山 あかし 九州大学, 比較社会文化研究院, 准教授 (60222056)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: ポスト真実 / 抑圧された知 / 代替事実 / 陰謀論 / 権威主義 / 聞く学び

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research is an investigation of “Post-Truth,” the social phenomenon frequently discussed in the last decade, from the two different methodological perspectives: one quantitative, the other, qualitative. The research has not only analyzed the phenomenon but also attempted to draw epistemological implications from it, taking “Post-Truth” seriously. “Post-Truth” does not simply refer to the condition of irrelevance to facts; it is a name given to the age in which we live, zeitgeist, and the world in which we live. It names well-demarcated multiple universes defended by our desire for agreement. If conceived thus, its epistemological challenge for social analysis becomes reminiscent of relativism. In conclusion, the research proposes that social analysis in the age of “Post-Truth” should not only check factuality of utterances circulating through the public sphere but also aspire to be dialogic and open, offering a critical sensibility for lives in uncertainty.

Free Research Field

文化人類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、現代社会の状況を要約するキーワードの一つである「連結性」とともに急速に浮上した「ポスト真実」（事実との照合を排除した世界観）に対し、社会科学がどのように批判的関与を担保できるのか、という課題を追究した。一方において、世界の結びつきは深まっているいるが、他方において、階級、地域、人種、ジェンダー、性的指向、政治的党派性、宗教、学歴などの差異により境界が明瞭になった世界が形成され、孤立の度合いは深まっている。この矛盾は、理性を審級とした社会科学的分析のあり方にも影響を与える。本研究は、分断が進行している世界に対し、社会科学はどう批判的関与を保持するかを問うた。