QUESTION 1. Apart from political outlook, what is it that makes us accept or reject a conspiracy or conspiracy theory? — Apollodorus
QUESTION 2. How can conspiracy or “conspiracy theory” be discussed without participants falling into either of the extremes? Is this at all possible, or are we reaching a point of no return where the concept of dialogue and debate has lost all meaning? — Apollodorus
I don’t know if denial has anything to do with it but during and after WWII we were promised a better, more civilized world. Unfortunately, this proves to have been another false prophecy: from trying to be “non-judgmental” in the 1950s, society seems to have progressed to being hyper-judgmental and increasingly intolerant of views that are at variance with one’s own. — Apollodorus
I do think it's important to consider conspiracy theories on a case by case basis, and avoid dismissing them on the basis of the political views of the person advocating for them (genetic fallacy). — bert1
In reality this philosophy ultimately leads to increasing levels of inequality. For the simple reason that money is power and power corrupts. — TaySan
Implicitly a conspiracy is a kind of a something, in the nature of a fact. A conspiracy theory is not. At best, a conspiracy theory is a conjectured template placed over a set of facts. Except that in conspiracy theories, often the facts are made-up and not in themselves facts. Which is to say we should take at least some care in keeping track of what is being spoken of and how.what is it that makes us accept or reject a conspiracy or conspiracy theory? — Apollodorus
How can conspiracy or “conspiracy theory” be discussed without participants falling into either of the extremes? Is this at all possible, or are we reaching a point of no return where the concept of dialogue and debate has lost all meaning? — Apollodorus
QUESTION 1. Apart from political outlook, what is it that makes us accept or reject a conspiracy or conspiracy theory? — Apollodorus
QUESTION 1. Apart from political outlook, what is it that makes us accept or reject a conspiracy or conspiracy theory? — Apollodorus
For example, Rob Brotherton in Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, says that the fascinating and often surprising psychology of conspiracy theories tells us a lot--not just why we are drawn to theories about sinister schemes, but about how our minds are wired and, indeed, why we believe anything at all [this is an important point]. Conspiracy theories are not some psychological aberration--they're a predictable product of how brains work. — Apollodorus
But what about conspiracy deniers? While believers in conspiracy or conspiracy theories may be said to operate under the influence of “suspicion” or “paranoia”, disbelievers may similarly operate under the influence of “denial”. — Apollodorus
I don’t know if denial has anything to do with it but during and after WWII we were promised a better, more civilized world. — Apollodorus
QUESTION 2. How can conspiracy or “conspiracy theory” be discussed without participants falling into either of the extremes? Is this at all possible, or are we reaching a point of no return where the concept of dialogue and debate has lost all meaning? — Apollodorus
QUESTION 2. How can conspiracy or “conspiracy theory” be discussed without participants falling into either of the extremes? Is this at all possible, or are we reaching a point of no return where the concept of dialogue and debate has lost all meaning? — Apollodorus
People who feel powerless seem to be more prone toward conspiracy theories. — baker
However, the question arises as to whether feeling powerless is (1) a fundamental or innate feature of their psychology or (2) the result of some factual observation that motivated that feeling (a) in general and/or (b) in relation to the particular theory. — Apollodorus
First, a conspiracy theory will adopt the aesthetics of a scientific or forensic analysis but will cherry pick it's results, using bad epistemology to justify this (see the zetetic method for an emblematic example). — Echarmion
Do you know people like that in your life? In both camps? I do. — Caldwell
Once a person has internalized and generalized that sense of powerlessness, narratives aligned with that powerlessness will appeal to them. — baker
I see what you mean. However, this was not what I meant by conspiracy theory. By "conspiracy theory" in this context I meant something more like "fact-based working theory on the basis of which we attempt to logically explain events or situations". — Apollodorus
Obviously, I'm not an expert on conspiracy theories and I wasn't aware of any technical term for it. — Apollodorus
Well, we can only speculate on such things.But it still needs to be established how big a factor powerlessness is in particular cases. — Apollodorus
Holding a position of power and feeling powerless are not necessarily mutually exclusive.I'm sure even powerful people might come to suspect that a conspiracy against them is being hatched by rivals or opponents if they think there is evidence to justify their suspicion.
Isn't that just a theory? Why use the specific name of a currently much discussed phenomenon if that's not actually what you want to talk about? — Echarmion
In fact, it can be speculated that some people seek positions of power precisely to compensate for their deeply felt powerlessness. — baker
Yes, it is a theory. But I'm referring to those conspiracy theories that are (1) evidence-based, (2) well-thought-out, and (3) likely to be true, as opposed, for example, to deliberately fabricated narratives serving as political propaganda.
I'm referring to a subclass of "conspiracy theory" for which I do not as yet have a name. If you wish to suggest one, please feel free to do so. — Apollodorus
why do a subclass of conspiracy theory when you can have a class of its own that functions as an antithesis to conspiracy theory. — Caldwell
It wouldn't be completely wrong to say conspiracy theorists endorse some version of Modal Realism, a position that seems to blur the lines between possibility and actuality and those who aren't conspiracy theorists seem more familiar, intuitively or by exposure, with Probability Theory — TheMadFool
In which category would you put police detectives acting on a working hypothesis to solve a crime? — Apollodorus
Intransparant and manipulative governance has only itself to thank for it. The mistrust, at least, is entirely merited. — Tzeentch
the basic idea is to figure out how probable is it that a person x is the culprit given the evidence. Sounds very Bayesian too me. — TheMadFool
Conspiracy theories are a different matter. They are often offered as explanation for events or situations for which there may or may not exist non-conspiratorial explanations. — Apollodorus
The phrase "conspiracy theory" is used to dismiss and marginalize any dissent from official opinion.
The CIA didn't invent the phrase, but they promoted it in order to smear critics of the Warren report. — fishfry
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