What's Really Wrong with Fake News? A Spinozist Perspective

When: Friday, March 15, 2024, 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: ArtsTwo Lecture Theatre, 335 Mile End Road London E1 4FQ, Mile End

The Annual 2024 Nicolai Rubinstein Lecture in Intellectual History,  delivered by Professor Susan James (Birkbeck, KCL)

Professor Susan James will deliver the 2024 Nicolai Rubinstein Lecture on March 15: “What’s really wrong with fake news? A Spinozist perspective”

Fake news is nothing new. Not only does it have a history; for many generations, philosophers have discussed it and asked themselves what’s wrong with it. In this lecture I’ll consider whether their conclusions can deepen our own understanding of its dangers. Focusing on the work of one insightful opponent of fake news, the seventeenth-century Dutch philosopher Benedict de Spinoza, I’ll explore his view that it undermines our attachment to truthfulness. This is its most harmful effect and it has radical political implications. What might they mean for us?

The lecture shall be followed by a reception.

This lecture is sponsored by the Centre for the History of Political Thought and the School of History, Queen Mary University of London.

If you have any questions about this event, contact Andrew Fitzmaurice: a.fitzmaurice@qmul.ac.uk