In the Campion Lecture at St Aloysius College, Sydney, on 15 August 2018, Geoff Gallop, former Premier of WA, spoke about the post-truth world and the importance of understanding the role of education in our society. He said in conclusion:

Over the centuries human beings have learnt much about nature and society, how to co-exist with the former and how to humanise the latter. Educated people are those who embrace this progress, act on the basis of the knowledge it creates and who seek even more. It recognises difference and seeks reconciliation rather than division and truth rather than prejudice. As Pope Francis put it: It is not easy to arrive at harmonious composition of the different scientific, productive, ethical, social, economic, and political interests promoting sustainable development. This harmonious composition requires humility, courage, and openness to the comparison between the different positions, in the certainty that the witness given by men of science to truth and the common good contributes to the maturation of social conscience17 To replace this understanding with a value-free and opinion and interest-laden view of the world which sees power not as a means to an end but an end-in-itself, would be a tragedy for humanity. What we have is a culture war that cant be avoided.

For the full text of this lecture see:Campion Lecture final (2)