Language in a Time of Post truth
Philosophy’s critique of representation, and the alternative it suggests, has both profound insights and inherent limitations. Last week, we examined the idea that painting can go beyond representation or mirroring of the world. Rather than representing what we can already identify (a flower, a human body, a mountain), painting can reveal invisible forces that are usually hidden and unknown, compelling us to see what we normally cannot.
In what is often called the "post-truth" era, language has assumed an increasingly complex role. The term "post-truth" implies that objective facts now carry less weight in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. This shift raises urgent questions about how we communicate, understand, and represent the world around us. But does language have more to offer in our day-to-day lives than accurate "representation" of the world, than conveying our intentions? Could the post-truth era, rather than a crisis, be an opportunity to experiment with language in ways that expand our understanding, without necessarily distorting or undermining society?
Philosophers like Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Gilles Deleuze view language as far more than a straightforward tool for representing the world or conveying information. Instead, they see language as an open-ended system where meaning emerges from shifting, unpredictable, and often obscure interactions.
Language as an Event
More than it is a ready-made tool for everyday interactions, language is an "event," where each statement or utterance is not merely a transmission of information but an occurrence that generates effects in the world.
When we speak, we don’t just describe reality; we generate real effects—effects that come into existence through language itself. These effects are neither fully “out there” in the world nor mere illusions; rather, they constitute the sense of what we say—the dynamic aspect of reality that is constantly shifting and evolving, made tangible through language. Events in language are not fixed moments but constantly shifting processes, always in motion, unfolding in multiple directions simultaneously. These events contain paradoxes and ambiguities that allow meaning to emerge and evolve, unfolding in multiple directions simultaneously.
The meaning of an event isn't confined to the present; it stretches backward into the past and forward into the future, constantly evolving. This is why emotions like nostalgia and anticipation blend past and future into our present experience. For example, when we look at a photograph of a child, we feel both the joy of watching them grow and the sorrow of losing their younger self. These emotions are intertwined, revealing the complex, fluid nature of time and events, where different moments coexist and affect each other.
Language, in its role of expressing and generating events, is not limited to describing what has happened. It conveys the emotional, social, political, and relational shifts that accompany an event—whether it’s anger, regret, love, or joy. The meaning of what we say is not tied to a fixed object or a single truth but rather takes on a life of its own, creating new possibilities through language.
Our words always exceed the simple exchange of ideas and information, while at the same time leaving something unsaid, something to be desired. This duality—the gap where we can't fully say the sense of what we mean (as in any conversation where we’re unsure if the other side truly "gets it") and the surplus of meaning we bring with our unique expressions, idioms, and personal language—opens up space for further interpretations, explorations, and unexpected possibilities. Language is both incomplete and overflowing, continuously unfolding beyond its immediate function.
The Role of Paradoxes
Paradoxes are a powerful way of looking at language beyond exchange of information and representation, because they are not just contradictions but a site of productive tension where new meanings, new sense, can emerge. We all know of cases where language can hold multiple, often conflicting meanings simultaneously, generating this kind of productive ambiguity.
For instance, the very term "post-truth" is paradoxical—it suggests both the importance of truth and its supposed irrelevance. Public discourse is filled with statements that can be interpreted in multiple, often contradictory ways. This creates a landscape where meaning is fluid and unstable, where what is true for one person may be false for another, depending on how language is used.
If we view paradoxes not as enemies of logic (rationalism) but as allies of language (creativity and experimentation), we can learn to navigate this intricate landscape with greater nuance. Instead of trying to resolve paradoxes into simple, clear-cut truths, we can see them as revealing the complex, layered nature of reality.
In a post-truth context, this perspective allows us to move beyond the binary of true/false and recognize the many forces and meanings at play in any given statement. As language in our time is already dismantling this traditional binary, our task is not to dismiss or accept new "truths" at face value but to interpret them carefully.
We must ask whether "alternative facts" are opening up new spaces for meaning and understanding or simply attempting to enforce a singular, rigid narrative. This distinction is critical because it shapes whether language is used to expand our sense of reality or to restrict it under the guise of creating new truths.
Alice's paradox unfolds as she grows bigger while simultaneously becoming smaller in relation to the version of herself that is receding.
Reclaiming Sense in a Post-Truth World
In a post-truth world, where language is often used to obscure rather than reveal meaning, there is an urgent need to reclaim a sense of reality. However, this reclamation doesn’t involve returning to the simplistic notion of truth as a direct correspondence between language and reality. Instead, it requires embracing the multiplicity of sense and recognizing that meaning is not something fixed or pre-given, but something that is continually created—sometimes even involuntarily—through the unfolding of events and language.
To reclaim sense, we must engage critically and creatively with language—not by seeking a single, definitive truth, but by exploring how different events in language generate meaning. Events in language extend beyond the individual who speaks, the specific situation being referred to, and even the relationships between the words themselves.
Language causes meaning to spread, mutate, and function through collective flows rather than being anchored to a single subject, to a singular truth or to a fixed interpretation. In this way, language operates much like rumor—it belongs to no one and is shaped by collective understanding ("everyone knows that…"), yet its origin or source remains unclear. We often don't know where the idea or truth we're discussing comes from, and that ambiguity becomes part of the event itself.
Like rumors, words are passed along within a collective, not to convey objective truths but to generate effects, provoke actions, and influence social responses. Language, much like rumor, moves through a social field, producing effects and shaping behavior, even when it's not grounded in fact. This fluid, evolving process of meaning-making is central to understanding how language operates in dynamic, unpredictable ways—shifting, spreading, and creating realities rather than merely reflecting them.
If we want to "take back control" of language, of sense, meaning, and truth, we must first embrace the fact that language is not bound by a strict fidelity to reality or our personal intentions. Language has its own life, its own tendencies and interests, always stretching beyond the thing we aim to represent or convey. Instead of trying to restrain it, we should flow with its unpredictability and use it to cultivate the creation of new meanings, keeping it open and dynamic, rather than fixating on finding the truth. The goal is not to create a new truth, meaning, or story, but to sustain the ongoing flow of multiple meanings. When language is free from any singular discourse, individual, or intention, new possibilities emerge, offering the post-truth era a space for fresh meanings to continually unfold.
* This week’s recommended film is Alain Resnais' Muriel, or the Time of a Return (1963). The film shows how the past is constantly revisited and reinterpreted, emphasizing the fluid nature of our sense of reality.