ABSTRACT
Postmodernism is often blamed for post-truth, but the blaming is as often done post-truthfully. This becomes clear when one uses a lens of a specific topic, like history. This chapter considers the caricature of postmodernism crafted by Steven Pinker and Jordan B. Peterson. It aims to show that by using the perspective of a historian, one can find the harshest critics of postmodernism driven by the same disregard for truth as is ascribed to postmodernism. First, it confronts a common definition of postmodern philosophy with its twisted version. This enables the chapter to show later how, rather than simply misrepresenting it, Peterson and Pinker imbue postmodernism with significance which pertains to their ideological visions of the world. These include historical errors, a false version of postmodernism’s history, and a misleading systemic outlook on the historical process. Finally, it reflects on their distortion as specific examples of post-truth.
