There seems to be a normalization of using half-lies and outright lies as truths, while ignoring facts that do not support the lying conclusion. A few years ago, the term ‘alternative facts’ was coined to describe an argument based not on real facts but on a more or less imaginary reality.
At the time, it was perhaps a bit funny and something that was nevertheless replaced by facts and truth when the lie was proven and exposed. This is no longer the case. The lie has become almost unproblematic to use as a cudgel in debate, and it does not matter to the believer whether the lie is exposed or not. Confidence in the liar is unshaken.
It was like a cartoon in which an offended young man says: ‘It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, it’s still shitty’ after coming across a claim that the Swedish flag had been burned in a school.
Professor Åsa Wikforss, who gave a lecture at KTH, discussed how we should behave in the post-truth era and provided a comprehensible framework for understanding what is now happening in public debate and political positioning. That different political movements have different values on which they base their policies is not new – it is the desire to achieve certain societal values and goals, and how to get there, that is at the heart of political debate.
However, when the facts underpinning that direction describe the same social phenomena in very different ways, the debate becomes increasingly polarized and conflictual, creating a basis for disagreement between different opinions and facts and between different political views. Democratic dialogue becomes increasingly difficult.
The role of universities is, and will be, obviously important in all this. We must stand up for the facts of what we know and what we do not know.We should not mix research with political activism, and we should engage in debate based on the facts that research has shown.This applies to engineering as much as to any other science.
While the picture painted by Åsa Wikforss is somewhat bleak, it is clear that universities are needed more than ever. Our role is becoming increasingly important as the climate of debate hardens and truth and lies become interchangeable.