ERIC Number: EJ1363377
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Feb
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0741-7136
EISSN: EISSN-1552-3047
Post-Truth as an Epistemic Crisis: The Need for Rationality, Autonomy, and Pluralism
Adult Education Quarterly: A Journal of Research and Theory, v73 n1 p3-20 Feb 2023
Contemporary society is experiencing an epistemic crisis, evidenced by such "post-truth" phenomena as "alternative facts." Traditional notions related to knowledge and Truth have been under continual, partly justifiable, attack under the eclectic banner of postmodernism, and alternative epistemic foundations (essential for democracy to function) have not been provided. Drawing on the European and North American literature of political theory, philosophy, and adult education, this article offers an update and defense of three core epistemic concepts: rationality, autonomy, and pluralism. To address the epistemic crisis, adult education needs to develop epistemically responsible learners, promote diverse public learning spaces (agoras), and teach learners how to engage in meaningful dialogue outside of their own echo chambers.
Descriptors: Epistemology, Abstract Reasoning, Personal Autonomy, Cultural Pluralism, Educational Philosophy, Civics, Adult Education, Educational Needs, Democracy, Humanism
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A