Abstract

This talk will be about two philosophical approaches to propaganda. About half of the talk will concern Jason Stanley's book How Propaganda Works, from 2015. I criticize Stanley's account and argue that the normative character of his approach to propaganda and, relatedly, to assertion, is to blame.

I also argue that several known features of propaganda can be derived from a descriptive account of assertion, but not all, specifically not those that crucially depend on the mass character of the audience. The second half of the talk is about this topic, where I also briefly sketch my own account of assertion.