Philosophy For Our Times The strange search for knowledge in the age of post-truth | Steve Fuller
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Mar 3, 2026 Steve Fuller, a sociology professor and founder of social epistemology, challenges conventional views of how knowledge is made. He explores social foundations of knowledge, the rise of post-truth as recognition of plural perspectives, the role of media and technology in shaping what counts as knowledge, and how education and AI change who gets to validate information.
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Modern Science Emerged From Autonomous Knowledge Institutions
- The Royal Society model created autonomous knowledge producers who test ideas independently then feed findings back to authorities.
- Fuller argues this 17th-century institutional innovation accelerated scientific progress across generations.
Modern Knowledge Is An Intergenerational Project
- Modern science treats knowledge as intergenerational and unfinished, unlike ancient views that prized lifetime-acquirable wisdom.
- Fuller calls this historicity the driver of long-term scientific enterprise and belief in future progress.
Post-Truth Grows From Doubts About Unchecked Progress
- Post-truth arises from doubts about a single progressive truth after 20th-century harms linked to science and technology.
- Fuller ties public skepticism to historical examples like fertilizers becoming poison gas and Cold War anxieties.