In various ways, science, religion, philosophy and the arts all claim to represent the truth. But what truth means is different in each case, and increasingly controversial. The traditional religious idea of absolute Truth has long been considered dubious. A radical scepticism was at the heart of the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment. By the end of the 20th century, though, many feared healthy scepticism had given way to a destructive hostility to all truth claims in the guise of postmodernism and various forms of relativism in politics and culture, as well as notoriously in academia.
In recent years there has been a backlash against postmodern ideas and a reassertion of truth claims. From Al Gore’s touting of scientific consensus against those who doubt the reality of climate change, to Pope Benedict XVI’s railing against relativism in the name of religious Truth, there is a palpable yearning for certainty in a seemingly uncertain world. Politicians increasingly look to ‘the science’ – data passed off as truth – to legitimise ‘evidence-based policies’, meaning argument is replaced by conflicting research findings. Others argue religious faith is essential to a fulfilling life, and some scientists have responded by challenging religious truth claims. Disputes around ‘Creationism’ raise thorny questions about what is true and how to challenge untruths.
If all you can rely on is scientific evidence and dry facts, what hope is there for passionate and substantive political debate? Is the search for truth merely about accepting the world as it is, or might it mean understanding the world the better to transform it?
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Professor Colin Blakemore professor of neuroscience at the universities of Oxford and Warwick; chair, Neuroscience Research Partnership, Singapore; chair, general advisory committee on science, Food Standards Agency |
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Frank Furedi professor of sociology, University of Kent, Canterbury; author, Wasted, Politics of Fear and On Tolerance: in defence of moral independence |
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Susan Jacoby author, The Age of American Unreason; programme director, Centre for Inquiry - NYC; fellow, Centre for Scholars and Writers, New York Public Library. |
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Professor David Jones director, Anscombe Bioethics Centre; author, Angels: a very short introduction |
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 | Claire Fox director, Institute of Ideas; panellist, BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze |
The Truth? - you must be making it up!, Sarah Boyes
A passion for conservative values has united diverse Christian groups, giving them influence way beyond their numbers
Susan Jacoby, The Times, 31 October 2008
Creationism: why we need open debate
The Royal Society’s cowardly decision to force out its education director shows its inability to defend science.
David Perks, spiked, 18 September 2008
Dissects a modern America at odds with its heritage of Enlightenment reason and with 21st century knowledge and science.
Susan Jacoby, Old Street Publishing, 25 August 2008
Say no to counterknowledge
It is not that people are ignorant and lack discernment; nor are they beguiled by the power of the internet; rather there is an attraction, sometimes cynical, sometimes desperate, but an attraction nonetheless to dogmatic points of view at a time when the power of human reason and our ability to make history are both seen as discredited.
Angus Kennedy, Culture Wars, 15 February 2008
The tyranny of science
Today, it frequently seems as if scientific authority is replacing religious and moral authority, and in the process being transformed into a dogma.
Frank Furedi, spiked, 15 January 2008Outright fiction is being peddled as historical and scientific fact, warns Damian Thompson in an extract from his provocative new book.
Damian Thompson, Telegraph, 15 January 2008
Comparing Humanism, Marxism/Leninism, and the New Age movement with biblical truth to affirm the coherence and truthfulness of Christianity.
David Noebel, Harvest House Publishers, 15 August 2001
