| |
Apr 20, 2024
|
|
|
|
|
LAS 476 - The Pursuit of Truth in a Culture of Confusion 3 Credit Hours
An investigation of the effects of mass-mediated communication and information as a mass commodity on values, particularly the value of truth. In an age of information glut, where for all intents and purposes every possible point of view is represented, all points of view appear to have the same value. The idea of having and clinging to “values” implies evaluating ideas–seeing which ones are “better” than others. All ideas are not equal; otherwise “values” as such are irrelevant. At the same time, all our mass-mediated messages are biased toward the technological culture that brings them to us. We spend more and more time communicating with (or through) our technologies, and less and less time communicating with one another through real, human, interpersonal means–discourse. The Dominican idea of the disputatio–the pursuit of truth through mutually respectful disagreement, debate, and criticism–has been replaced with accommodatio–an unfortunate willingness to reject truth, except as an entirely subjective experience.
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing.
Add to My Bulletin (opens a new window)
|
|
