Social Psychology and the Rhetoric of Truth

Abstract

The main argument of this paper is that science has endorsed the defining features, and the social functions, of the `Rhetoric of Truth' which supports the exercise of power in every society. The general structure of the `Rhetoric of Truth' and the specific traits of the scientific rhetoric of truth are analysed before entering into a consideration of the diverse implications which stem from the inclusion of standard social psychology in the frame of the scientific rhetoric of truth. The conclusion points to the need to shift the basic assumptions of social psychology in a post-empiricist and a postmodern direction.