Randal Marlin
American-born Canadian philosophy professor at Carleton University in Ottawa who specializes in the study of propaganda.
There are many special interests skilful at manipulating circumstances and communications in such a way as to benefit their own ends and not necessarily the public good.
In modern times sound policy-making must often come to grips with numbers.
Anyone familiar with the marvels of the Worldwide Web can hardly fail to see that we have entered a new era in communications on a scale perhaps comparable to the invention of the Gutenberg press.
Any restrictions to freedom of expression will always open the door to possible others, because analogical reasoning can mount arguments showing why this or that class of objects is closely similar to those for which exceptions have been made.
Since the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have had an interest in taking note of common fallacies in reasoning.
Party politics in modern democratic society means pandering to a wide variety of different groups and sympathizing with their often quite base motives, such as revenge, power, booty, and spoils, to maintain the necessary level of support.
Exposure as a propagandist is fatal to the would-be persuader.