The political dimension of a notion of truth

• Grant number: 18/09753-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2018
• End date: December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Social Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Nelson da Silva Junior
• Grantee: Paulo Antonio de Campos Beer
• Supervisor: Stephen Frosh
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/03096-7 - The notion of truth in psychoanalysis and in philosophy of science, BP.DR

Abstract

This research aims to discuss the political dimension present in the definition of a notion of truth. If the matter of truth is traditionally considered as an epistemological, ontological or ethical notion (as seen in our main research), it seems necessary to ponder an additional incidence, which regards the power struggles and negotiations that are part of the recognition of a given notion of truth as a valid one. This recognition, as claimed by Isabelle Stengers (The politics of reason, 2000), should not be seen as the result of a neutral or completely objective debate, but as the acting of subjects who are defending, at the end, particular values and interests. Our hypothesis is that the notion of truth is a key element in the delimitation of reasoning possibilities, therefore the consideration of an intrinsic political dimension is central to understanding the contingency present in any production of knowledge. To do so, we will articulate authors who discuss the political dimension of knowledge production with authors of our main research, aiming to delimitate the role of the definition of a notion of truth in knowledge production's political dimension.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BEER, PAULO. From negation to negationism: the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOSOCIAL STUDIES, v. 14, n. 3, p. 15-pg., 2021-10-01. (18/09753-5, 16/03096-7)