The Constitution of Knowledge

A Defense of Truth

By: Jonathan Rauch

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Arming Americans to defend the truth from today’s war on facts.

Disinformation. Trolling. Conspiracies. Social media pile-ons. Campus intolerance. On the surface, these recent additions to our daily vocabulary appear to have little in common. But together, they are driving an epistemic crisis: a multifront challenge to America’s ability to distinguish fact from fiction and elevate truth above falsehood.

In 2016, Russian trolls and bots nearly drowned the truth in a flood of fake news and conspiracy theories, and Donald Trump and his troll armies continued to do the same. Social media companies struggled to keep up with a flood of falsehoods and too often didn’t even seem to try. Experts and some public officials began wondering if society was losing its grip on truth itself. Meanwhile, another new phenomenon appeared: “cancel culture”. At the push of a button, those armed with a cellphone could gang up by the thousands on anyone who ran afoul of their sanctimony.

In this pathbreaking book, Jonathan Rauch reaches back to the parallel 18th-century developments of liberal democracy and science to explain what he calls the “Constitution of Knowledge” - our social system for turning disagreement into truth.

By explicating the Constitution of Knowledge and probing the war on reality, Rauch arms defenders of truth with a clearer understanding of what they must protect, why they must do - and how they can do it. His book is a sweeping and listenable description of how every American can help defend objective truth and free inquiry from threats as far away as Russia and as close as the cellphone.

©2021 Jonathan Rauch (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Thank You!

For putting into words complex sentiments many of us have long held but could not easily express. Thank you.

For reminding us that truth has in the past and can again in the future triumph over outrage. Thank you.

The accomplishments of humanity in recent history are so vast and wondrous, that the system through which we’ve accomplished it sometimes seems indestructible. Yet this system has gaping vulnerabilities. For dedicating your life to defending this system. Thank you.

A MUST read.

For anyone, with hunger to know how to separate good ideas from bad ideas, you really should read this book. And then send a copy to every politician, academic, voter, and, well, everyone you know.
Excellent!

Brilliant argument

In this book, Rauch defines and describes a constitution of knowledge that is just as critical to freedom and thriving in a democracy as the constitution for government. His insights span both contemporary problems and historical threats to the constitution of knowledge. For those all across the ideological perspective and even those who don’t feel ideological but just want to further truth through a pursuit of objectivity, this book should be required reading.

Good defense for free speech and truth.

I enjoyed it as a follow up to Kindly Inquisitors. Believe about by the physical book to make notes on a future read.

Narrator ruins it

Seriously. Listen to the reader prior. Terrible Trump impression, et al. Not sure why narrators can’t get over themselves and just read.

Relevant read for today's information lndscape

Great book on the world of misinformation and distraction we live in today. At first I thought the book might be a one sided attack on the Trump administration's abuse of the office but it also covered cancel culture tactics used by the left. I thought it was a well rounded approach on how to handle truth seeking, defining truth, and helping one figure out how to distinguish truth from rubbish, Some of the information in this book seems so simple yet I see people I know everyday falling for the some of the misinformation tactics described in this book. I would recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about the information landscape we all have to navigate in today's age,

Enlightenment Defense

Challenging without some philosophical background but well worth the effort. A timely book for our current discomfort.

Essential

Rauch has written an important and thoughtful work in defense of free speech. The last chapter, an imagined dialogue suggesting how best to confront enemies of free expression in the chaotic digital world of the 2020s, is comprehensive and illuminating. As important, it’s useful.

Should be required reading

Heavy ideas that pull reality out of the fog of nonsense. Bought 2 paper copies to pass to friends and family.

A really good book

Rauch’s analogy between the constitutional design from James Madison & the way in which our reality-based institutions (science, journalism, law, etc.) are supposed to operate is brilliant. His argument for ensuring that these institutions operate the way they were designed (based on pluralism, a commitment to truth with rules and accountability) is much needed. This book helped clarify my thinking so much on this topic, where it really can be disorienting to know what to believe given how much information is out there.