Epistemology
A useful lens for examining how this topic shapes meaning, action, and public life.
Evidence, interpretation & public trust
Truth
Truth requires evidence, but public understanding also depends on institutions, language, trust, and methods of interpretation.
Communication overview
Why truth matters.
Claims do not circulate independently of power. Institutions determine which forms of expertise are recognized, which questions are considered legitimate, and which statements become accepted as knowledge. Foucault’s work encourages attention to the relationship between truth, authority, and social practices (Foucault, 1980).
At the same time, knowledge is not arbitrary. Communities develop methods, standards, and paradigms for evaluating evidence. Scientific change demonstrates that interpretation occurs within shared frameworks, even as evidence can eventually pressure those frameworks to change (Kuhn, 1962).
Communication scholarship
Four lenses for deeper analysis.
These concepts offer starting points for studying the topic without reducing it to a single explanation.
Power/knowledge
A useful lens for examining how this topic shapes meaning, action, and public life.
Media trust
A useful lens for examining how this topic shapes meaning, action, and public life.
Evidence evaluation
A useful lens for examining how this topic shapes meaning, action, and public life.
Questions worth exploring
Connect analysis to conflict and common ground.
- What evidence supports the claim?
- Who produced the evidence and by what method?
- Which institutions are trusted or distrusted, and why?
- What would count as disconfirming evidence?
- How can people seek shared standards without pretending interpretation never matters?
Look beyond the surface. Ask how meaning, identity, power, and relationship are being constructed.
Selected references
Scholarship supporting this overview.
- Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge. Pantheon Books.
- Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago Press.
More information coming soon
This topic hub will continue to grow.
Future additions may include original research, longer essays, visual analyses, teaching resources, case studies, and links to related commentary on Symbol Wizards and visual storytelling on Humanity’s Common Ground.