Media, Knowledge and Trust: The Deepening Epistemic Crisis of Democracy

Abstract

The argument has two related parts: firstly, we are witnessing an “epistemic” crisis in public spheres that threatens to undermine political agency. This crisis has to do with the massive amounts and speed of information, the processes by which we construct knowledge, as well as the new forms of knowledge deriving from digital technologies. Many developments in information technologies benefit democracy, but there is a growing concern about cognitive dilemmas. Secondly, in the present tumultuous juncture of Western democracies, dominated by the populist revolt, traditional distrust of media has turned into an assault on basic Enlightenment premises, eroding shared understandings of reality and compatible discourse. “Knowledge” becomes legitimated via emotionality. Critical rationality and progressive politics must engage more with these developments.