Truth and cultures of organised and normalised lying
Marie Breen Smyth · 2007
This chapter examines the nature of truth within the philosophical literature and how religion and law have defined truth, and influenced the way it is popularly conceptualised. The manner in which some populations come to be regarded as more suspect and less truthful is outlined, and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s four definitions of truth are examined; forensic truth, narrative truth, dialogical truth and healing truth. The role of the narrative truth in dismantling cultures of silence is discussed, and the desire of victims for truth is examined. The impact of a bifurcated culture of violence and of repeated exposure to traumatic violence on conceptualisations of truth is described and the manner in which extreme conditions create moral inversions and uncertainties about matters such as truth. The chapter ends with a discussion of the role of truth in politics, political resistance to truth telling, the impact of revelations of truth on political processes and the practice of ‘organised lying’ as a result of the subterfuges of war and civil conflict. Truth recovery is examined as a possible antidote to the effects of such practices.