Dec 26, 2024  
2017-18 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2017-18 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PL 355 How Do We Know What We Know? Truth, Media, Politics


This course combines epistemology, philosophy of science, and the ethics of journalism. The focus is on the relationship between the problems philosophers discuss when they think of issues of truth and knowledge and the problems journalists have as they go about their profession. How do voters know what they are getting when they vote for a candidate—in an era of spin rooms, sophisticated, poll-driven ads, “gotcha” questions—and when the voting public is segmenting into ever narrower politically defined niches.