Are We Living in a Post-Truth Era?

"Imagine you're at work, Shermer writes, and you get a call from your neighbor warning that suspicious-looking people seem to be casing your house. You call the police. They say they don't see anything out of the ordinary. Then your neighbor calls again to say there's a moving truck in your driveway. Again, the police assure you that they don't see anything. Then your neighbor calls a third time, this time frantic because he sees people inside your home. What do you do?"

"Why We Believe Our Own Side "Psychologically, this is the crux of the "post-truth" problem. Especially in times of uncertainty, our reasoning can become a servant of belonging. Social psychologists call this the my-side bias. Shermer cites Keith Stanovich's research showing that highly intelligent people are even better than less intelligent people "at rationalizing beliefs that they hold for non-smart reasons.""

People often act on convictions even when evidence is uncertain, because perceived threats and social belonging override doubt. Acting on plausible claims can be a rational response to apparent danger. Collective actions driven by convinced beliefs can produce large-scale consequences, including attacks carried out by people who believed their democracy was being stolen. Cognitive biases, especially the my-side bias, make reasoning serve social belonging and motivated beliefs. High intelligence does not inoculate against motivated reasoning and can enhance rationalization of non-rational beliefs. Persistent pursuit of actual truth remains crucial.

Read at Psychology Today