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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSean Hannity: Not even wrong, new report says
A report released by the Moral Philosophy Research Group this week confirms what many have long suspected: Sean Hannitys commentary is entirely devoid of cognitive content. Yes, except we mean it literally, says Anthony Vega, the reports lead author. When Hannity utters a sentence, hes not asserting a proposition that might be true or false hes simply expressing an attitude.
The researchers first became interested in Hannity after noticing a startling contrast between his apparently successful use of language and what seemed to be a never-ending string of blatant falsehoods. Most of what he says seems to be demonstrably false, Vega notes, and yet he engages in these back-and-forth exchanges in which his guests somehow just dont seem to care. I found myself wondering: What if Sean Hannity isnt even in the business of describing reality?
The hypothesis turned out to yield remarkable success in interpreting many of Hannitys otherwise puzzling statements, Vega says. Consider, for instance, Hannitys repeated claim that America has the greatest health care system on Earth. Theres just no plausible standard by which that could be true, explains Vega. What hes really saying is: USA! USA! Its a little more obvious when he says things like: The US is the greatest, best country God has ever given man on the face of the earth. This particular pro-attitude is a common theme for him.
http://fauxphilnews.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/sean-hannity-is-not-even-wrong-new-report-says/
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)But for his listeners , I dont think so. Its like Rush one day complaining about the Obamacare mandate. "If youre young and heralthy you dont need health insurance! I dont even have health insurance myself. So why do we need a mandate? " Rush forgot to tell them that he makes $40 million a year so he really doesnt need health insurance.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)Also like the Onion, it's often probably true.