Post-Truth: Prerequisites, Origins, Features of Discourse

The author of the article addresses the phenomenon of post-truth, which has an impact on various spheres of culture after it goes beyond political discourse. Despite the increased interest in the scientific community associated with modern socio-political events, the phenomenon of post-truth remains a subject of understanding and discussion. The uncertainty of its content and ontological foundations continues to attract the attention of theorists in the field of humanitarian studies. The purpose of the article is to conceptualize the main ideas in the field of post-truth research in order to identify key emphases that reveal its specificity. The proposed conceptualization determines the novelty of the work and contributes to the understanding of the phenomenon, outlining the contours of the post-truth culture. First of all, the history of use and theoretical aspects of the concept’s content are considered, including: the dominance of the emotional/subjective to the detriment of the rational/objective; problematization of meaning creation; struggle for the right to determine the truth. Secondly, the prerequisites for the formation of a post-truth culture are outlined (the development of information and communication technologies, the specifics of media production and media landscape, the legacy of the postmodern era). Thirdly, guidelines are proposed that reveal the ontological content of a post-truth culture: a new “truth regime” and the separation of language from reality, operating with meanings in the “rules of the game” pre-established by discourse. The main conclusion is that the new truth in the form of posttruth is characterized by a number of features (establishment within the framework of a mental model that has asserted its power in the struggle for the right to determine the rules and criteria of Truth/Falsehood; priority of the emotional component to the detriment of rationality; disintegration into many mini-truths, etc.).