Matthew Marcus P.

Lim 11708824 INTFILO C31

5 Insights from Big Lecture: Philosophy of Truth II
1. The controller of information wields power.
The person who controls how information is produced and distributed can dictate
how people perceive what is true and what is false. This is evident throughout history. In
the past, the very first means of transmitting knowledge was orally. Elders of tribes or
villages would pass information through mouth to mouth. Those who controlled the
information at that time (the elders) were also the leaders of their society. When the
printed manuscript was invented, the people who controlled the information was the
Catholic Church. The Church told the people what was right and what was wrong and
the people believed them. When the Gutenberg Press was invented, Martin Luther was
able produce his publications against some of the teachings of the Church. When the
information against the Church was spread rapidly to the public through the printing
press, the people started doubting the teachings of the Church. This led to the
protestant reformation and a decline of power of the Church.
2. Pseudo truth is a powerful weapon used by politicians.
The use of pseudo truth by politicians is very evident during campaigning or
election period. The politicians would tell half-truths or pseudo truths that will make them
look good in hopes that the public would vote for them. Not knowing what is true or not
can be detrimental to our society. Politicians who are not fit to lead a country could win
in the election because the public believed in the politician’s credentials, promises and
character during the campaigning period which may all be false information.
3. Believing is not the same as knowing.
It may be useful for someone to believe something, even if someone else finds to
not believe the same thing. Confirmation bias is the tendency to only accept information
that supports your personal beliefs. Confirmation bias is a prominent factor regarding
the issue on “fake news” in social networking sites or media. People would tend to
spread information that supports their own beliefs even if their belief is false. An
example of this would be the case of Anti-Vaxxers. Despite being scientifically proven
that vaccination does not cause autism, these people still believe in it because they find
it useful in believing these false truths.
4. The advancement of technology makes it easier for people to manipulate information
or the truth.
One of the real challenges we face today is knowing how to distinguish whether
the news is fake or real. Technology has made it really hard for us to know what the
actual truth is. The use of applications such as video editing software, photoshop and
even artificial intelligence. An example mentioned by one of the speakers about this
issue would be a video of Barrack Obama saying so many bad things that loos so
believable due to the advancement of technology. This led to many people to despise
Barrack Obama even if he did not say any of those words. It is important to study
philosophy especially on the topic about truth in order for us to not be deceived by these
fake videos or information.
5. Some false beliefs are undeniably useful.
Despite false beliefs being based on false facts, it can still be
beneficial for a person to believe in these beliefs. These false beliefs can bring hope,
happiness and even help one’s health. An example of false beliefs being useful is the
use of the placebo effect on pills in the field of medicine. A placebo is an inert
substance, typically a tablet, capsule or other dose form that does not contain an active
drug ingredient. Despite the tablet being an ordinary tablet, it can be helpful to cure
some symptoms of a patient because the patient believes that he is actually taking real
medicine.