Critical Theory and Political Epistemology. Six Theses on Untruth in Politics

Abstract

Torn between a deeply felt necessity to defend truth and objectivity against organized climate change denialists or political propagandists on the one hand, and an equally deeply felt necessity to avoid turning “the scientific method” and objectivity into a naïve positivism on the other hand, how can we hold on to the critical insights into the actual practices of the natural and the social sciences, the humanities and the life sciences, without being embarrassed by stories like the three above?