Governare la paura. Journal of interdisciplinary studies

The irruption of post-truth

Thomas Casadei — 2019-05-02

Post-truth is a complex phenomenon which could be analysed from a variety of perspectives. In this paper, attention will be paid to the theoretical and practical aspects concerning the role of law in contrasting the fake-news. These are the most important and evident results of the impact of post-truth in the legal and political world. A following focus is dedicated to the new forms of activism aiming at developing a critical conscience. The Author concludes that it is time to promote practices of active citizenship, developed by new technologies, social network and digital platforms, as well as to organize dialogues and discussions in the educational environments and, more broadly, in the neighbourhoods of the city.

Post-truth and lie. Variations on Hannah Arendt

Francisco Javier Ansuátegui Roig — 2019-05-02

The essay reflects on the harmful effect that recourse to post-truth (modern form of political lie) supposes for democracy. Taking Hannah Arendt's thought as a reference, the Author analyzes the role that truth plays in the political sphere and the recourse to lying as a mode of domination by totalitarian political systems where reality constitutes an uncomfortable fact. Opposite with these systems, democracies try to preserve the autonomy of citizens to shape their political preferences, in a context dominated by reason and truth, against the deformations of reality generated by the use of emotions and lies.

Democracy and the demise of «the public». Mistrust, fragmentation, polarisation: towards a bubble democracy?

Damiano Palano — 2019-05-02

This essay argues that the success of «post-truth» is partially connected to the characteristics of the new «hybrid» communication scenario. The author maintains that the current context differs substantially from the democracy of parties, which has characterised a part of the 20^th century, as well as from the democracy of the public, a notion formulated by Bernard Manin in the mid-1990s. As a matter of fact, the diffusion of the new media has triggered the fragmentation of the public into a plurality of self-referential segments and «bubbles» which are (potentially) not rooted in an intersubjective sphere of communication. Considering the impact of these transformations, the essay proposes the image of a bubble democracy as an alternative to the mainstream interpretations both of the democracy of parties and of the democracy of the public and it argues that its main features are the widespread mistrust towards institutions, audience fragmentation and polarisation.

Protection from the lie and protection of truth between philosophy and law

Corrado Del Bò — 2019-05-02

In the era of fake news, truth has become a different and more urgent political problem than the traditional issues of the arcana imperii and the lies of the rulers. Starting from this observation, and deepening some considerations contained in the essay by Hannah Arendt Thruth and Politics, the article offers a worried report on the possibility of truth (scientific and factual) not to be reduced to mere opinion among others, and concludes that only a loyal collaboration between epistemic authorities and politics can make the judicial road for the protection of truth less attractive.

Post-truth, fear and control information: what role for law?

Gianluigi Fioriglio — 2019-05-02

This essay explores the connection between post-truth and fear, arguing that the latter may be used as a tool to control information and thus manipulate public opinion. Furthermore, it discusses the role of law in regulating post-truth (among others, by a better regulation of Information Society providers). Eventually, some solutions are proposed.

The Theory of Rights in Mary Wollstonecraft

Serena Vantin — 2019-05-02

Considering the whole corpus of Mary Wollstonecraft’s writings, this paper focuses on her view of rights, seen as moral claims and rhetoric tools. Firstly, it is argued that, in the author’s perspective, their technical and judicial dimension is peripheral, where “rights” are human features within a religious conception of life. Secondly, some consequent aspects are analysed, such as the rights’ effectiveness, their nature, their content and their entitlement.