The gruesome toll should make the pandemic undeniably salient, undeniably factual. But the denials mount as fast as the casualties. In his latest of many statements downplaying the pandemic, Trump declared that 99% of COVID-19 cases are harmless.
You may think this a lamentable reflection on human nature (and you’d be right). But it’s also a comment on the nature of facts. I don’t want to dwell on misguided people behaving badly. I want to explore how reasonable people misrepresent facts and how this tendency leads to an impasse of the worst kind.
Further Reading
Coronavirus responses highlight how humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don’t fit their worldview
Adrian Bardon explains why denial of facts is natural. He writes, “This kind of affect-laden, motivated thinking explains a wide range of examples of an extreme, evidence-resistant rejection of historical fact and scientific consensus.”
Axios-Ipsos: Second-guessing the death toll
“This may be the most jarring evidence to date about just how deeply partisanship has infected our collective ability to trust institutional sources and agree on science and facts.”
A Brief History of Facts
“The rise of ‘the fact’ during the 17th century came at the expense of the power of authority.” David Wootton wonders, “Could the digital age reverse how we decide what is true and what is not?”
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