Science, Truth, Democracy. A Troubled Marriage?

In this text, I highlight and criticize the increasing disregard for objective truth in society, emphasizing a shift towards prioritizing emotions and personal beliefs over facts, often labeled as “post-truth” or “alternative facts.” I argue that this trend reflects an irrational fear of knowledge (episteme-phobia) and cultural malaise regarding our relationship with science, truth, and democracy. I raise critical questions about how scientific knowledge can coexist with democratic values, the role of experts in a landscape where everyone’s opinions are equally regarded, and the potential rise of methodological anarchism in public discourse. I suggest that the decline in trust toward objective scientific methods is symptomatic of deeper societal issues, including the fading credibility of a previously dominant scientistic vision that promised science as a solution to social and political problems. In the end, I argue that it is incumbent upon us to re-build the trust in both science and democracy through an epistemic fallibilist view and also a pragmatist philosophical vision.