PHIL 456PTruth and Democracy

Catalog

Why should we trust our governments? One common answer to a question of trust is truth: we should trust someone or something because they tell us the truth. However, governments and government agents sometimes claim that they must not tell us the truth in some cases, either by omission or by direct lie, in order to effectively perform their necessary duties. Indeed, governments have been repeatedly implicated in deception towards their citizens. In situations where we know that we may not be given the truth, but where we are still encouraged to trust, what can make up the difference? What role does political expertise play in our trust in government, and related institutions like the political media? In this course we will explore questions of political epistemology that include what we deserve to know, what the government should refrain from telling us, and why we should accept the government's statements. We will examine these questions with theoretical arguments, and examine case studies of government truth-telling and deception to analyze the source of our trust in government, and what role truth has to play in it.