The misinformation age : how false beliefs spread / Cailin O'Connor, James Owen Weatherall.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2019]Copyright date: ©2019Description: ix, 266 pages : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 0300234015
- 9780300234015
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 153.74 O18 | Available | 33111009317427 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The social dynamics of "alternative facts": why what you believe depends on who you know
"Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy."-- Kirkus Reviews
Editors' choice, New York Times Book Review * Recommended reading, Scientific American
Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite bad, even fatal, consequences for the people who hold them?
Philosophers of science Cailin O'Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false beliefs. It might seem that there's an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that's right, then why is it (apparently) irrelevant to many people whether they believe true things or not?
The Misinformation Age , written for a political era riven by "fake news," "alternative facts," and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, shows convincingly that what you believe depends on who you know. If social forces explain the persistence of false belief, we must understand how those forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-250) and index.
Introduction: The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary -- What Is truth? -- Polarization and conformity -- The evangelization of peoples -- The social network.
Why should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite consequences for the people who hold them? Philosophers of science Cailin O'Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false belief. It might seem that there's an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that's right, then why is it (apparently) irrelevant to many people whether they believe true things or not? In an age riven by "fake news," "alternative facts," and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, the authors argue that social factors, not individual psychology, are what's essential to understanding the persistence of false belief and that we must know how those social forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively.