The Illusion of a Crossroads: Parmenides, Arendt, Mamardashvili and the Space for Truth

Abstract

If “classical” lies aimed to conceal truth and “modern” ones attempted to destroy it, “postmodern” propaganda targets the self and the certainty of thinking. The organized lies of our times aim to silence the self by sabotaging our ability to make sense of the world. As a result, it is difficult to speak truth today. It is equally difficult to hear it, not in the least because truth, unlike propaganda, is unwilling to admit that it is one opinion among others. An artificial form – a metaphor, a paradox, a novel, or a painting – can help truth be heard. Literature can help me decide something that has already been decided. Hannah Arendt’s essay “Truth and Politics,” the text written by Parmenides, Merab Mamardashvili’s concept of artificial organs, and Stanislav Aseyev’s recent memoir help me establish these claims.

Keywords

• truth
• propaganda
• art
• arendt
• mamardashvili
• parmenides
• ukraine
• aseyev