Post-Truth and Mythical Thinking Cover Image

Postprawda a myślenie mityczne
Post-Truth and Mythical Thinking

Author(s): Aleksander Zbirański
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Communication studies, Philology
Published by: Komisja Nauk Filologicznych Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk we Wrocławiu
Keywords: post-truth; communications; myth; public debate; mythical thinking

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to show relationships and links between post-truth and mythical thinking and their mutual influence. Understanding these relationships is needed for an in-depth reflection on the increasingly common and important phenomenon shaping the public debate. The development of new media contributes to the development of post-truth, which changes the nature of interpersonal relations. Communication based on trust and certain accepted principles in the perception of the world is undergoing significant changes. It is not possible to say what is true or whether any truth is certain and constant. This epistemological fluidity leads to a situation of chaos and the suspension of the possibility of agreement between individuals, groups and communities. Breaking society into groups focused around its truths antagonizes social relations. The importance of this issue forces the study of its relationships with other forms of organizing the experience. One of them is mythical thinking. As the basic way of thinking about the world, it influences the social and individual vision of reality. In the text, I use my own definition of post-truth, presenting a deeper analysis of the phenomenon and its consequences for social life in the context of the mitogenic potential of this cognitive process

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 14
  • Page Range: 347-353
  • Page Count: 7
  • Language: Polish