Metasemantics and Intersectionality in the Misinformation Age

This book investigates the impact of misinformation and the role of truth in political struggle. It develops a theory of objective truth for political controversy over topics such as racism and gender, based on the insights of intersectionality, the Black feminist theory of interlocking systems of oppression. Truth is defined using the tools of model theory and formal semantics, but the theory also captures how social power dynamics strongly influence the operation of the concept of truth within the social fabric. Systemic ignorance, propagated through false speech and misinformation, sustains oppressive power structures and perpetuates systemic inequity. Truth tends to empower marginalized groups precisely because oppressive systems are maintained through systemic ignorance. If the truth sets people free, then power will work to obscure it. Hence, the rise of misinformation as a political weapon is a strategy of dominant power to undermine the political advancement of marginalized groups.

“I am extremely excited to see this book. Debates about language—words like
‘woman’ and ‘racism’—have been absolutely central to vital political issues for
some time. They have also been weaponised, used to argue that important issues
are “just about language.” This book takes these debates seriously—both
politically and linguistically. It is wonderfully wide-ranging, deeply grounded in
both intersectional theory and analytic philosophy of language. We’ve been
needing a book like this for a long time!”
—Jennifer Saul, University of Waterloo, Canada.


“This timely work draws together various themes—knowledge and oppression,
truth and misinformation, language and power—and grounds them in a
discussion of practical issues that should concern us all. Bridging conversations
in linguistics and politics, this book is a long overdue and necessary complement
to debates that examine the intersection of the political with other philosophical
sub-disciplines, like epistemology and ethics. To come across a work that reveals
something you have understood but have been unable to express, that examines
how language can empower and disempower, is both exciting and will speak to
many who have felt themselves silenced without fully understanding why.”
—Briana Toole, Claremont McKenna College, USA


“A truly impressive melding of hard-core analytic philosophy and serious politics.”
—Naomi Scheman, University of Minnesota, USA


This book investigates the impact of misinformation and the role of truth in
political struggle. It develops a theory of objective truth for political controversy
over topics such as racism and gender, based on the insights of intersectionality,
the Black feminist theory of interlocking systems of oppression. Truth is defined
using the tools of model theory and formal semantics, but the theory also
captures how social power dynamics strongly influence the operation of the
concept of truth within the social fabric. Systemic ignorance, propagated through
false speech and misinformation, sustains oppressive power structures and
perpetuates systemic inequity. Truth tends to empower marginalized groups
precisely because oppressive systems are maintained through systemic ignorance.
If the truth sets people free, then power will work to obscure it. Hence, the rise of
misinformation as a political weapon is a strategy of dominant power to
undermine the political advancement of marginalized groups.


Derek Egan Anderson is a lecturer in the philosophy department at Boston
University, USA.

Derek Egan Anderson is a lecturer in the philosophy department at Boston University, USA.