On Truth

On Truth

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Comments

Kathryn Murphy

20180917

Five essays on the timely theme of 'Truth' and current challenges to it

1.Dr Kathryn Murphy on Sir Francis Bacon's 1620s essay, On Truth, and its striking contemporary parallels

We live, we keep being told, in a 'post-truth' world, suffering an epidemic of 'truth decay', but we are not the first to fear information overload, disinformation and fake news.

In the 1620s, the statesman and philosopher Francis Bacon opened the final edition of his Essayes, which had been the first book of their kind in English when first published in 1597, with an essay entitled of 'Of Truth'.

He was driven by his own personal political woes but also by the preoccupations of his era: rapidly changing technology (the telescope and microscope made the world feel at once bigger and smaller); America and its inhabitants challenging European understanding and sense of identity; passionately opposing factions continuing the arguments of the Reformation; war in Europe forcing the question of just how far Britain should get involved in the Continent; and - to spread the news and unrest about it - the first organised distribution of newspapers in England had just begun.

To launch this topical series, On Truth, Dr Kathryn Murphy, Fellow in English at Oriel College, Oxford, uncovers Bacon's own concerns and links them with today's pressing issues.

Reader; Sean Murray

Producer: Beaty Rubens.

Five essays on the timely theme of truth and current challenges to it.

Kurt Andersen

20180918

As he unpicks the fantastical beliefs that run through America's past and present, the writer and broadcaster Kurt Andersen asks if the US is now entering a post-truth era.

The author of Fantasyland and co-founder of Spy magazine, Kurt has spent many decades separating fact and fiction and in this essay he explores the historical roots of America's weakness for alternative realities.

From the religious visions of the Pilgrim Fathers and Joseph Smith, to the showbiz dreams of PT Barnum and Walt Disney, the proliferation of conspiracy theories and the new age of virtual reality and internet chat rooms, Kurt tells the story of a nation in which fantasy and reality have long been intertwined.

Producer: Julia Johnson.

American writer Kurt Andersen traces America's long history of magical thinking.

Juliet Samuel

20180919

In the depths of the financial crisis of 2008, American bankers-turned-regulators met to discuss plans to restore market confidence by injecting vast quantities of cash into the failing system. 'What about $1 trillion?' , Neel Kashkari is reported to have suggested. 'We'll get killed,' Hank Paulson is said to have replied. And so the figure of $700 billion was agreed, the biggest bailout in history calculated not on market truths but on political realities.

Juliet Samuel writes for The Daily Telegraph and in this essay she looks back at the recent history of financial markets to ask whether markets really are, as many economists believe, vast mechanisms geared towards discovering truth - the true price of assets, the true risks and rewards of investment and therefore the most efficient allocation of cash.

As she considers financial market failures such as the 2008 crash and the euro crisis, Juliet argues that, ultimately, there is still a compelling reason for believing that markets are as close to economic truth as we can get and it is almost impossible to beat them. Investors who try to do so, so-called 'active managers' who are probably managing some of your pension fund right now, have consistently failed to get to the truth more accurately than the market. What we are learning is how and when markets can discover the truth - and when it's simply undiscoverable.

Producer: Julia Johnson.

Juliet Samuel asks if markets are giant truth-seeking mechanisms or generators of bubbles.

Pankaj Mishra

20180920

Mahatma Gandhi wrote 'Devotion to this Truth is the sole justification for our existence. All our activities should be centred in Truth. Truth should be the very breath of our life.' In today's talk, the writer Pankaj Mishra considers the Indian thinker and statesman's views on Truth and how they stand seventy years after his death.

Producer: Simon Elmes.

Pankaj Mishra considers the notion of truth as perceived by Mahatma Gandhi.

05 LAST

Simon Blackburn

20180921

In simple affairs of life we're often pretty good at judging what's true. We have designed, tested and trusted instruments to help detect whether an electrical circuit is live, whether there is petrol in the car or pressure in the tyres. Given this background of success, it is perhaps surprising to find how often scepticism about truth and about our capacities has reared its head in the history of human thought...' Simon Blackburn is the author of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy and was until his retirement Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University. In this final contribution to Radio 4's week-long consideration of the nature of Truth in the contemporary world, Simon offers a longer, philosophical perspective on the way Truth has played out across history.

Producer: Simon Elmes.

Philosopher Simon Blackburn offers a timely long view of the notion of truth.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Comments
01	Kathryn Murphy	20180917	Five essays on the timely theme of 'Truth' and current challenges to it 1.Dr Kathryn Murphy on Sir Francis Bacon's 1620s essay, On Truth, and its striking contemporary parallels We live, we keep being told, in a 'post-truth' world, suffering an epidemic of 'truth decay', but we are not the first to fear information overload, disinformation and fake news. In the 1620s, the statesman and philosopher Francis Bacon opened the final edition of his Essayes, which had been the first book of their kind in English when first published in 1597, with an essay entitled of 'Of Truth'. He was driven by his own personal political woes but also by the preoccupations of his era: rapidly changing technology (the telescope and microscope made the world feel at once bigger and smaller); America and its inhabitants challenging European understanding and sense of identity; passionately opposing factions continuing the arguments of the Reformation; war in Europe forcing the question of just how far Britain should get involved in the Continent; and - to spread the news and unrest about it - the first organised distribution of newspapers in England had just begun. To launch this topical series, On Truth, Dr Kathryn Murphy, Fellow in English at Oriel College, Oxford, uncovers Bacon's own concerns and links them with today's pressing issues. Reader; Sean Murray Producer: Beaty Rubens. Five essays on the timely theme of truth and current challenges to it.
02	Kurt Andersen	20180918	As he unpicks the fantastical beliefs that run through America's past and present, the writer and broadcaster Kurt Andersen asks if the US is now entering a post-truth era. The author of Fantasyland and co-founder of Spy magazine, Kurt has spent many decades separating fact and fiction and in this essay he explores the historical roots of America's weakness for alternative realities. From the religious visions of the Pilgrim Fathers and Joseph Smith, to the showbiz dreams of PT Barnum and Walt Disney, the proliferation of conspiracy theories and the new age of virtual reality and internet chat rooms, Kurt tells the story of a nation in which fantasy and reality have long been intertwined. Producer: Julia Johnson. American writer Kurt Andersen traces America's long history of magical thinking.
03	Juliet Samuel	20180919	In the depths of the financial crisis of 2008, American bankers-turned-regulators met to discuss plans to restore market confidence by injecting vast quantities of cash into the failing system. 'What about $1 trillion?' , Neel Kashkari is reported to have suggested. 'We'll get killed,' Hank Paulson is said to have replied. And so the figure of $700 billion was agreed, the biggest bailout in history calculated not on market truths but on political realities. Juliet Samuel writes for The Daily Telegraph and in this essay she looks back at the recent history of financial markets to ask whether markets really are, as many economists believe, vast mechanisms geared towards discovering truth - the true price of assets, the true risks and rewards of investment and therefore the most efficient allocation of cash. As she considers financial market failures such as the 2008 crash and the euro crisis, Juliet argues that, ultimately, there is still a compelling reason for believing that markets are as close to economic truth as we can get and it is almost impossible to beat them. Investors who try to do so, so-called 'active managers' who are probably managing some of your pension fund right now, have consistently failed to get to the truth more accurately than the market. What we are learning is how and when markets can discover the truth - and when it's simply undiscoverable. Producer: Julia Johnson. Juliet Samuel asks if markets are giant truth-seeking mechanisms or generators of bubbles.
04	Pankaj Mishra	20180920	Mahatma Gandhi wrote 'Devotion to this Truth is the sole justification for our existence. All our activities should be centred in Truth. Truth should be the very breath of our life.' In today's talk, the writer Pankaj Mishra considers the Indian thinker and statesman's views on Truth and how they stand seventy years after his death. Producer: Simon Elmes. Pankaj Mishra considers the notion of truth as perceived by Mahatma Gandhi.
05 LAST	Simon Blackburn	20180921	In simple affairs of life we're often pretty good at judging what's true. We have designed, tested and trusted instruments to help detect whether an electrical circuit is live, whether there is petrol in the car or pressure in the tyres. Given this background of success, it is perhaps surprising to find how often scepticism about truth and about our capacities has reared its head in the history of human thought...' Simon Blackburn is the author of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy and was until his retirement Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University. In this final contribution to Radio 4's week-long consideration of the nature of Truth in the contemporary world, Simon offers a longer, philosophical perspective on the way Truth has played out across history. Producer: Simon Elmes. Philosopher Simon Blackburn offers a timely long view of the notion of truth.