conspiracy theory

The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theory: 4 Recent Publications

Conspiracy Theory: A Philosophical Defense 

(A booklet for general audiences)

SUMMARY: The phrase “conspiracy theory” is often used as a pejorative, especially by people who take themselves to be sophisticated—such as scholars, government officials, and TV news personalities—even though they will generally admit that some conspiracy theories have turned out to be true. Their dismissiveness stems, in significant measure, from the assumption that conspiracy theories imply implausibly large and malevolent conspiracies. However, the considerations offered in this booklet suggest: (1) conspiracy theories need not, and often do not, posit malevolence or implausible motivations, (2) alleged conspirators holding high office in Western countries should not be regarded as above suspicion, and (3) the scope of a (possibly well-motivated) cover-up may reasonably be expected to be considerably larger than the scope of the associated (possibly appalling) underlying conspiracy. The third finding suggests that conspiracy theories that are generally regarded as implausibly large based on the size of what may seem to be a cover-up (much of which may not be conspiratorial) may not be implausibly large after all. All this suggests that dismissing conspiracy theories because they are presumed to entail implausibly large and malevolent conspiracy theories is a mistake. Rather, each theory ought to be judged on its own particular merits, focusing on the most plausible version. 

More than Half of Americans Believe in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories per Chapman University survey

Chapman University Oct 11, 2016
"What Aren’t They Telling Us?"
EXCERPT
"The most prevalent conspiracy theory in the United States is that the government is concealing information about the 9/11 attacks with slightly over half of Americans holding that belief...."
https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2016/10/11/what-arent-they-telling-us/
Main Survey Page - http://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/survey-american-fears.aspx

Cass Sunstein: Still Plagued by his Imaginary Conspiracy Theorists

A story had came out the other day, based on a study published in JAMA, about how lots of Americans believe in nutty medical conspiracy theories (i.e., flouride is bad, cell phone radiation is bad, etc) --

You're Not Alone: Medical Conspiracies Believed By Many
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/us-medical-conspiracies-idUSBREA2H22K20140318

I found it nauseating to read and ending up commenting on multiple locations out of frustration, wasting time. But then I noticed that Voice of America was running the story (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_america#VOA_as_a_propaganda_tool) and that Cass Sunstein was also writing about it, and it was even more nauseating, yet also, made sense. They are trying so hard to hold onto their control of things that their propaganda is practically glowing.

The good news is that about half of Americans see through it. The comments on these news articles indicated the views went about 50-50 -- half the people understood that being skeptical of every official claim is healthy and normal, and half the people were automatically defending authority without question

"Al Jazeera" discussed "Conspiracy Theories"

During a discussion about "What do conspiracy theories say about us?" (al jazeera), Lance Dehaven-Smith, Professor, Florida State University, said, that he would support a new 911-investigation. His specializations are "Public policy, political theory, philosophy of science, public opinion, and Florida politics and government." (askew). He already published in the "Journal for 911 studies" (911-blogger) about his insights.

During the programm most of the comments were suspicious about official accounts of events, proven to be lies. So it was a good success for spreading 911truth.

See the show, link to youtube

"Conspiracy Theory in America" by Lance deHaven-Smith (University of Texas Press)

Professor Lance deHaven-Smith's solid scholarship continues to make breakthroughs in examining high crimes. He coined the term
“state crimes against democracy” (SCAD) in the notable peer-reviewed journal, American Behavioral Scientist, and now he is taking on the "conspiracy theory" label in his new book, Conspiracy Theory in America, published by the University of Texas Press.

In a letter to the Journal of 9/11 Studies (http://www.journalof911studies.com/resources/2013LettersAprilde-HavenSmith.pdf), Prof. deHaven-Smith provides an excellent introduction to his book.

Sibel Edmonds on Breaking the Set: Government Allowed 9/11

Abby Martin talks to the Editor of Boiling Frogs Post and Founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, Sibel Edmonds, about her story as a whistleblower, the government intentionally thwarting evidence in order to ensure the 9/11 attacks, the TSA and the erosion of civil liberties in a post 9/11 America.

LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet
FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin

Staged Terror, Fukushima Crime Syndicate, Conspiracy Reality

On this episode of Breaking the Set, Abby Martin talks to NYU professor and author of 'Fooled Again', Mark Crispin Miller about voting fraud, 911 and how the term 'Conspiracy Theory' shuts down objective debates. Abby then speaks with Kurt Haskell, Congressional Candidate for Michigan's 7th District, about his experience on the flight with the Christmas day Underwear Bomber that completely contradicts the government's narrative. BTS wraps up the show with a look at the intertwined relationship between the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate and the nuclear energy industry in Japan.

LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet

FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin

America – and Western Civilization As a Whole – Was Founded On a Conspiracy Theory

The Constitution, Magna Carta and Democracy Itself Are Based on the Idea that – Without Checks and Balances – Those In Power Will Take Advantage of Us

America was founded on a conspiracy theory: that Britain’s King George and his men were conspiring against the colonists.

The Declaration of Independence recites a series of conspiracies:

When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism … The history of the present King of Great Britain [and others working with and for him] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

***

Pursuit of truth and "conspiracy theory"

This message may not have much to do with 9/11 but it does in one important respect: the unrelenting pursuit of the truth and justice.

In 1989, a tragedy unfolded at a British football stadium called Hillsborough at the beginning of a football match in which 96 Liverpool fans died as a consequence of poor planning, no crowd control and a lack of a disaster and emergency plan.

Last week, a report was published which exposed the scale of the cover-up by the Police in their failures to stop the tragedy. This included the police altering over 100 statements, telling police officers to say they weren't at the stadium and collected DNA evidence of those who died in order to see if they could find any criminal past that would help them justify the actions of those fans which led to their deaths. It was also revealed that 41 of the 96 should not have even died.

As a consequence of this report, I managed to get a letter published in the UK metro which has a readership of over 3 million stating that the conspiracy theory label is insulting and derogatory toward those who seek the truth over injustice.

It was edited slightly, but the essence of the letter remains:

Theories running rampant through technology

Probably getting a bit bored of it all by now!

Here is a long article from the Independent so here is a selection:

Conspiracy theories are cultural viruses. Once they infect the zeitgeist, it is extremely difficult to stamp them out – no matter how solid the evidence against them is. Studies have shown that people who are prone to believe in conspiracies display an innate bias towards information which supports that conspiracy, no matter how spurious that information is and no matter how solid the evidence against the conspiracy is.

Today, there are more conspiracy theories and more conspiracy theory believers than ever before. They range from the simply fanciful – such as the theory that Kentucky Fried Chicken is owned by the Ku Klux Klan which laces the food with a drug that makes only black men impotent – to the labyrinthine, such as the intricacy of theories around 9/11 and the death of John F Kennedy.

...

Once the quaint preserve of anoraks (think JFK) and X Files fans (alien abduction, faked moon landings and Area 51), they have now become a malevolent modern-day tool which nefarious organisations use to further their aims. Jamie Bartlett, head of the Violence and Extremism Programme at independent think tank Demos, has studied this worrying trend.

...

There are several reasons why conspiracy theories are increasing. Mainly it is because the internet has made it easy to propagate rumour and supposition on a global scale. Social networking sites allow conspiracy theorists to seek out and link with like-minded individuals. Whereas past conspiracies, like those surrounding the death of JFK, took years to formulate and disseminate, today's conspiracies develop almost organically. Immediately after 9/11, the internet was abuzz with individual voices questioning the official version of events. These nebulous ideas were able to crystallise as theorists discussed and developed their ideas and formed into a set of theories adopted by groups such as the 9/11 Truth Movement.

...

The number of people who believe conspiracy theories is staggering. According to various recent surveys, a third of Brits believe Princess Diana was murdered (a Daily Mail survey), a quarter believe the moon landings were faked (from Engineering and Technology magazine), nearly half of all Americans do not believe global warming is man-made (a Yale University survey) and 84 per cent of them believe 9/11 was an inside job (a New York Times/CBS poll).

9/11 truth conspiracy theory is baseless: Comment in the Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/26/science-silence-doubters-david-kelly

This guy bashes 9/11 truth about halfway down into the article.

Can science silence the doubters on David Kelly?

Baseless conspiracy theories are a sadly inevitable side-effect of the kind of sceptical inquiry we really need

 

NYT Op-Ed attacks Gage and truth movement

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/truth-and-conspiracy-in-the-catskills/?ref=opinion

From the article:

I distanced myself from my discomfort by regarding the event as theater and inventorying the dramatis personae. They were straight out of central casting. Sander Hicks, the master of ceremonies, looked like an amalgam of Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Matt Dillon; he kept things moving and implored “put your hands together” as each speaker came to the podium. Paul Zarembka played (and was) the left-leaning academic economist. He said, “The ruling class will do anything to keep in power.” The Rev. Ian Alterman preached gentleness, humility and respect. He said that those who have an investment in the official lies because that’s all they’ve ever heard cannot be approached in a confrontational manner.

9/11 paranoia breeds nutball conspiracy tales

**THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE APPEARED 9/10/06 IN THE MIAMI HERALD**

9/11 paranoia breeds nutball conspiracy tales
BY FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@herald.com

The Democratic nominee in Florida's 15th congressional district maintains a website outlining positions on abortion, border security, gay marriage and beach renourishment (''We must do it smarter'') that wouldn't strike anyone as political paranoia.

But Robert Bowman, who won Tuesday's primary with 54.5 percent of the vote, offers a treatise on 9/11 that could serve as a manifesto for conspiracy theorists. ''If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding everything?'' the nominee asks.

Sept. 11 theorists generally tend to obsess with one explanation or another of those shattering events. Some proffer a theory that CIA agents had stoked the World Trade Center with explosives. (The airliners were just a ruse.) Others claim a cruise missile, not a commercial airliner, hit the Pentagon. Others claim Flight 93 was shot down over Pennsylvania by our own military jets.

HIJACKERS ALIVE?

Bowman embraces the whole mad smorgasbord. And he adds the notion some of the hijackers have been spotted since 9/11, ''alive and well.'' He dismisses al Qaeda attempts to take credit. 'Why does the `Osama bin Laden' in the 'confession' videotape have a nose about an inch shorter than the real Osama bin Laden?''

RSS