Why Conspiracy Theories?

[mixed_biscuits]

I'm not arguing she's doing rigorous analysis herself. She's obviously trying, but what I'm saying is her point about conspiracy theory currently being dominated by the right and the left needing to combat that by offering a rigorous alternative strikes me as true.

The assumption that conspiracy theorising per se is a problem is the problem

 

[mixed_biscuits]

A better term for conspiracy theorising would be something like 'speculative reasoning and inference' and the correct approach to it is to improve its quality rather than attempt completely to do away with that sort of pondering on the necessarily incompletely knowable

 

[version]

You're making the same argument she is.You're just hung up on semantics.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

You're making the same argument she is.You're just hung up on semantics.

As one should be, seeing as the term 'conspiracy theory' itself has been selectively pushed in order to denigrate speculative reasoning (or even well evidenced findings) made outwith the auspices of an often arbitrarily sanctioned body

 

[Clinamenic]

To me, the speculative aspects of conspiratorial thinking are useful, but that speculative reasoning can be employed without what I consider perhaps the central fallacy of conspiratorial thinking, namely the tendency to posit something approximating an absolute control or agency driving a given phenomenon. I just think 99% of the time its way more messy, which isn't to say that some people don't have outsized influences.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

To me, the speculative aspects of conspiratorial thinking are useful, but that speculative reasoning can be employed without what I consider perhaps the central fallacy of conspiratorial thinking, namely the tendency to posit something approximating an absolute control or agency driving a given phenomenon. I just think 99% of the time its way more messy, which isn't to say that some people don't have outsized influences.

To my mind, the 'mess' is the hidden larger complex of moves available to actors which scales up these differences in actors' resources to output actual 'influence'...often 'conspiracy theorists' infer or find the convoluted, back-channel or one-simple-trick way by which those with more resources managed to have their druthers, so circumventing attempts to tightly constrain available moves by, for instance, 'regulation'

 

[WashYourHands]

To me, the speculative aspects of conspiratorial thinking are useful, but that speculative reasoning can be employed without what I consider perhaps the central fallacy of conspiratorial thinking, namely the tendency to posit something approximating an absolute control or agency driving a given phenomenon. I just think 99% of the time its way more messy, which isn't to say that some people don't have outsized influences.

 

[WashYourHands]

To my mind, the 'mess' is the hidden larger complex of moves available to actors which scales up these differences in actors' resources to output actual 'influence'...often 'conspiracy theorists' infer or find the convoluted, back-channel or one-simple-trick way by which those with more resources managed to have their druthers, so circumventing attempts to tightly constrain available moves by, for instance, 'regulation'

 

[IdleRich]

I'll put this in the conspiracy theory thread until it enters the mainstream and becomes common knowledge, just to protect myself from accusations of libel etc but of course we all know it's true.



Though really such precautions are unnecessary because it's been confirmed by reliable sources.

 

[mixed_biscuits]