L. I. S.: Lies – Imposture – Stupidity

“What is new in our ‘era’ is perhaps the fact that truth no longer has any authority. Today, the truth is not just weak but faint, pointless, insipid, futile; the truths that are proclaimed are superficial, contain clichés, and therefore cannot withstand the exuberant and pseudo-deepness of our contemporary liars. The danger of ‘post-truth’ lies not in the lie, then, but in the futile, weak, and shabby nature of the truth. And yes, those who proclaim futile truths are complicit in and therefore responsible for the proliferation of untruths.”

What is the truth? How do we determine what is true versus what is false? How can we assure ourselves and others that we are speaking truthfully? In his new book L.I.S.: Lies – Imposture – Stupidity, Roland Breeur takes a 21st Century perspective on the history and the potential future of truth – its meaning, its function, and its value. From Donald Trump and the “post-truth” era to the philosophical musings of Deleuze and Arendt, from political conspiracies to familial deceptions, Breeur insightfully explores the psychological mechanisms at work in lies and dissimulations of facts and fictions as well as the philosophical significance, and validity, of the search for truth. At once a historical survey of individuals who have spun webs of lies, on stages big and small, and a philosophical disquisition on truth past, present, and future, Breeur brings nuance and insight to discussions that have been had many times in many contexts over the years and that are currently being had in every corridor of our contemporary existence.