Conspiracy theories, populism, and epistemic autonomy
- Quassim Cassam has argued that psychological and epistemological analyses of conspiracy theories threaten to overlook the political nature of such theories. According to Cassam, conspiracy theories are a form of political propaganda. I develop a limited critique of Cassam's analysis. This paper advances two core theses. First, acceptance of conspiracy theories requires a rejection of epistemic authority that renders conspiracy theorists susceptible to co-option by certain political programs while insulating such programs from criticism. I argue that the contrarian nature of conspiracy theories partially accounts for the prominence of such theories in populist movements. Second, the contrarian nature of conspiracy theories partially accounts for their attractiveness, especially among those to whom populism already appeals. I argue that for those who resent what appears from their perspective as the shaping of the epistemic landscape by alien perspectives, conspiracy theorizing may facilitate the reassertion of epistemic autonomy.
| Author: | Keith Raymond HarrisORCiDGND |
|---|---|
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:hbz:294-88289 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2021.44 |
| Parent Title (English): | Journal of the American Philosophical Association |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Place of publication: | Cambridge |
| Document Type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Date of Publication (online): | 2022/04/26 |
| Date of first Publication: | 2022/03/16 |
| Publishing Institution: | Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsbibliothek |
| Tag: | applied epistemology; conspiracy theories; epistemic autonomy; epistemic dependence; populism |
| First Page: | 1 |
| Last Page: | 16 |
| Institutes/Facilities: | Institut für Philosophie II |
| Dewey Decimal Classification: | Philosophie und Psychologie / Philosophie |
| open_access (DINI-Set): | open_access |
| faculties: | Fakultät für Philosophie und Erziehungswissenschaft |
| Licence (English): |  Creative Commons - CC BY 4.0 - Attribution 4.0 International |
