In ancient Greek, the word "logos" meant many things. HeraclitusAn ancient Greek philosopher. He thought that change was central to the universe. used it to mean "knowledge", while for AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. it meant "reasoned discourse". Translators of the Bible gave it a new meaning, more familiar to us: "word".

All of this goes to show just how much the ideas of knowledge, reason, speech and words are entangled in our thinking. Since the beginning of thinking itself, we have believed that we can arrive at truth by talking and reasoning with each other.

For much of history, it was believed that only certain people could be trusted to have these discussions and decide what the truth was. Truth was monopolised by the ChurchThe Christian religious community as a whole. and those who wielded political power.

But in the 18th Century, some began to argue that ordinary people had just as much right to discuss and debate. They claimed that the more people spoke about a subject, the more likely it was that we would get to the truth. This principle became the foundation of modern democracyA system of government based on the idea of rule by the people..

But according to political theorists, the great strength of democracy is also its greatest weakness. 

People having the freedom to debate and discuss allows them to get at the truth. But if they start to believe things that are obviously false, then they inject these falsehoods into the public discourse and undermine the truth.

Experts warn there are many threats to truth. One of the biggest is false news spread on social media.

Although social media companies have been told for many years that their websites are being used to spread false news, they have taken little action. Facebook has admitted that its basic programming amplifies misinformationIncorrect or misleading information unintentionally presented as fact. It can be contrasted with disinformation or deliberate lies..

And critics say Elon MuskA South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'.'s takeover of TwitterA social media network, now known as X and owned by Elon Musk. has made misinformation on the platform worse. The number of tweets denying the climate crisis rose by 30% last year.¹

Advances in technology also pose a problem. AI-generated "deep fakesWhen AI is used to make convincing fake video, audio and images." are becoming more and more realistic. It is now possible to produce believable videos of politicians saying things they never said in real life.

If these threats are not reined in, experts say, democracy could collapse.

But others say we have got it the wrong way round. It is not that a lack of truth is undermining democracy, but that modern democracy is undermining truth.

They argue that the real strength of democracy is not that it allows people to discuss and debate to get closer to the truth, but that it gives them formal channels to voice their opinions and make demands.

But today, they claim, democracy has been taken over by a centrist, liberalLiberalism is a school of political thought that stresses individual liberty. Liberals believe that society should not try to impose values or behaviours on individuals but should be tolerant of different lifestyles. A leading exponent of liberal thought was the 19th-century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, the author of the classic work On Liberty. consensus. That means it is no longer responsive to the needs and demands of those who disagree with this consensus.

When people do not have political channels for expressing their concerns, they turn to non-political alternatives like conspiracy theories. That means they start believing in and spreading false information.

So in the end, they argue, it is not a failure of truth that is undermining democracy, but a failure of democracy that is undermining truth.

Yes: Democracy only works if we can all agree on a common truth. Without this we cannot have reasonable discussions about the best way forward, and democracy becomes no more than a struggle for power.

No: People have always believed false things, and democracy has not suffered. We should have more faith in the strength of democratic systems.

Or: We are looking at this the wrong way round. Our aim should not be to drive out untruth in order to preserve democracy. We must reform democracy in order to preserve the truth.