Philosophy and the Fabrication of Truth: Nietzsche, Foucault, Plato, and Baudrillard in the Metaphysical Constructs of Select Cults

Abstract

Examining cults from metaphysics to epistemology, this study also analyses the construction and dissemination of truth from a cultic belief–system perspective. Cults generally profess to know the ultimate truth–whether metaphysical or esoteric–and, hence, they often take themselves to be the only bearers of knowledge and the true nature of reality. Drawing on postmodern and existentialist theories, this research examines the tension between subjective truth and objective reality, thereby critiquing the creation of cults as their own metaphysical
systems and knowledge frameworks. Through a study of cults such as The Branch Davidians (David Koresh), The Rajneesh Movement, and Heaven’s Gate, this study will examine how these groups present their worldviews as higher or ultimate truths, using philosophy to support their doctrines. The paper is strongly informed by Michel Foucault’s concept of epistemic power: it examines how specific structures control knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and how it is distributed within society to exert control over cult followers by producing an exclusive truth. In addition, the study shall include hyperreality theory by Jean Baudrillard, which postulates that cults manufacture an illusory picture of reality for their adherents. This paper shall, by studying and commenting on the productive clashes between these cults’ manufactured truths and the search for truth in larger philosophical traditions, such as Plato’s Cave Allegory and Nietzsche’s critique of absolute truths, explore how these cults pose questions to traditional epistemological discussions of knowledge and truth now. Ultimately, cults are the subjects of sociological critique, but cults can also be understood as philosophical examples that challenge metaphysical and epistemological views about truth.