Introduction

Abstract This introductory chapter sets the stage by defining and motivating the book’s central project. Many falsehoods seriously endanger democratic processes. Yet some falsehoods seem, on the face of it, to play a meaningful part in performing core functions of democratic public discourse. The book’s aim, I explain, is to examine how falsehoods can contribute to these democratic functions, and under what conditions this makes it permissible to deploy such falsehoods. The chapter then clarifies the idea of ‘falsehoods’, as well as falsehoods’ relation to other forms of speech, such as lying, misleading, rhetoric, bullshitting, and propaganda. Finally, the chapter specifies the non-ideal contexts I will be focusing on, outlines the book’s normative foundations, and concludes by offering a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book.