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  • Written by Mark Satta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

An endless flow of information is coming at us constantly: It might be an article a friend shared on Facebook with a sensational headline or wrong information about the spread of the coronavirus. It could even be a call from a relative wanting to talk about a political issue.

All this information may leave many of us feeling as though we have no energy to engage.

As a philosopher[1] who studies knowledge-sharing practices[2], I call this experience “epistemic exhaustion.” The term “epistemic” comes from the Greek word episteme[3], often translated as “knowledge.” So epistemic exhaustion is more of a knowledge-related exhaustion.

It is not knowledge itself that tires out many of us. Rather, it is the process of trying to gain or share knowledge under challenging circumstances.

Currently, there are at least three common sources that, from my perspective, are leading to such exhaustion. But there are also ways to deal with them.

1. Uncertainty

For many, this year has been full of uncertainty. In particular, the coronavirus pandemic[4] has generated uncertainty about health, about best practices and about the future.

At the same time, Americans have faced uncertainty about the U.S. presidential election[5]: first due to delayed results and now over questions about a peaceful transition of power[6].

Experiencing uncertainty can stress most of us out[7]. People tend to prefer the planned and the predictable. Figures from 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes[8] to 20th-century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein[9] have recognized the significance of having certainty in our lives.

With information so readily available, people may be checking news sites or social media in hopes of finding answers. But often, people are instead greeted with more reminders of uncertainty.

3 reasons for information exhaustion – and what to do about it As Trump supporters denounce the 2020 election results, feelings of uncertainty can come up for others. Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images[10]

2. Polarization

Political polarization is stressing many Americans out[11].

As political scientist Lilliana Mason[12] notes in her book, “Uncivil Disagreement: How Politics Became Our Identity[13],” Americans have been increasingly dividing politically “into two partisan teams.”

Many writers have discussed the negative effects of polarization[14], such as how it can damage democracy. But discussions about the harms of polarization often overlook the toll polarization takes on our ability to gain and share knowledge.

That can happen in at least two ways.

First, as philosopher Kevin Vallier[15] has argued, there is a “causal feedback loop[16]” between polarization and distrust. In other words, polarization and distrust fuel one another. Such a cycle can leave people feeling unsure whom to trust or what to believe[17].

Second, polarization can lead to competing narratives[18] because in a deeply polarized society, as studies show, we can lose common ground[19] and tend to have less agreement.

For those inclined to take the views of others seriously, this can create additional cognitive work. And when the issues are heated or sensitive, this can create additional stress and emotional burdens[20], such as sadness over damaged friendships or anger over partisan rhetoric.

3. Misinformation

Viral misinformation is everywhere. This includes political propaganda in the United States[21] and around the world[22].

People are also inundated with advertising and misleading messaging from private corporations, what philosophers Cailin O’Connor[23] and James Owen Weatherall[24] have called “industrial propaganda[25].” And in 2020, the public is also dealing with misinformation about COVID-19[26].

As chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov put it[27]: “The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.”

Misinformation is often exhausting by design. For example, a video that went viral,[28] “Plandemic[29],” featured a large number of false claims about COVID-19 in rapid succession. This flooding of misinformation in rapid succession, a tactic known as a Gish gallop[30], makes it challenging and time-consuming for fact checkers to refute the many falsehoods following one after another.

What to do?

With all this uncertainty, polarization and misinformation, feeling tired is understandable. But there are things one can do.

The American Psychological Association suggests coping with uncertainty[31] through activities like limiting news consumption and focusing on things in one’s control. Another option is to work on becoming more comfortable with uncertainty[32] through practices such as meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness.

To deal with polarization, consider communicating with the goal of creating empathetic understanding[33] rather than “winning.” Philosopher Michael Hannon[34] describes empathetic understanding as “the ability to take up another person’s perspective.”

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter[35].]

As for limiting the spread of misinformation: Share only those news stories that you’ve read and verified. And you can prioritize outlets that meet high ethical journalistic[36] or fact-checking standards[37].

These solutions are limited and imperfect, but that’s all right. Part of resisting epistemic exhaustion is learning to live with the limited and imperfect. No one has time to vet all the headlines, correct all the misinformation or gain all the relevant knowledge. To deny this is to set oneself up for exhaustion.

References

  1. ^ philosopher (clasprofiles.wayne.edu)
  2. ^ knowledge-sharing practices (philpeople.org)
  3. ^ episteme (plato.stanford.edu)
  4. ^ coronavirus pandemic (journals.sagepub.com)
  5. ^ uncertainty about the U.S. presidential election (www.pewresearch.org)
  6. ^ questions about a peaceful transition of power (www.nytimes.com)
  7. ^ uncertainty can stress most of us out (www.apa.org)
  8. ^ René Descartes (philsci-archive.pitt.edu)
  9. ^ Ludwig Wittgenstein (www.goodreads.com)
  10. ^ Karla Ann Cote/NurPhoto via Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
  11. ^ is stressing many Americans out (www.huffingtonpost.ca)
  12. ^ Lilliana Mason (gvpt.umd.edu)
  13. ^ Uncivil Disagreement: How Politics Became Our Identity (press.uchicago.edu)
  14. ^ negative effects of polarization (theconversation.com)
  15. ^ Kevin Vallier (www.kevinvallier.com)
  16. ^ causal feedback loop (www.kevinvallier.com)
  17. ^ unsure whom to trust or what to believe (news.gallup.com)
  18. ^ competing narratives (time.com)
  19. ^ lose common ground (www.degruyter.com)
  20. ^ stress and emotional burdens (www.sciencedaily.com)
  21. ^ political propaganda in the United States (iop.harvard.edu)
  22. ^ around the world (www.nytimes.com)
  23. ^ Cailin O’Connor (cailinoconnor.com)
  24. ^ James Owen Weatherall (jamesowenweatherall.com)
  25. ^ industrial propaganda (heterodoxacademy.org)
  26. ^ misinformation about COVID-19 (www.nature.com)
  27. ^ Garry Kasparov put it (twitter.com)
  28. ^ a video that went viral, (theconversation.com)
  29. ^ Plandemic (www.forbes.com)
  30. ^ Gish gallop (www.vox.com)
  31. ^ coping with uncertainty (www.apa.org)
  32. ^ comfortable with uncertainty (pemachodronfoundation.org)
  33. ^ creating empathetic understanding (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
  34. ^ Michael Hannon (mjhannon.com)
  35. ^ Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter (theconversation.com)
  36. ^ journalistic (www.spj.org)
  37. ^ fact-checking standards (www.poynter.org)

Authors: Mark Satta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

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