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The misinformation age : how false beliefs spread / Cailin O'Connor, James Owen Weatherall.

By: Contributor(s): Publisher: New Haven : Yale University Press, 2019Copyright date: 2019Description: ix, 266 p. : ill. ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 9780300234015
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 23 070.43
Contents:
The vegetable lamb of tartary -- What is truth? -- Polarization and conformity -- The evangelization of peoples -- The social network
Summary: The social dynamics of "alternative facts": why what you believe depends on who you know 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. Copac
List(s) this item appears in: New acquisitions 2019 | Acquisitions 2019-2020
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Loanable Book Library General Collection 070.43 OCO (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 000438621

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-250) and index.

The vegetable lamb of tartary -- What is truth? -- Polarization and conformity -- The evangelization of peoples -- The social network

The social dynamics of "alternative facts": why what you believe depends on who you know 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. Copac

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