Epistemology Of Conspiracy Theory

Brian Keeley’s short essay, “Of Conspiracy Theories” discusses conspiracy theories and their value in an epistemological context. Keeley defines a conspiracy theory as “a proposed explanation of some historical event (or events) in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of persons-the conspirators-acting in secret (Keeley 1999, pg. 116).” Keeley seeks to answer the question of why conspiracy theories are unwarranted. His interest in the warrant of conspiracy theories focuses on ¬the unfalsifiability of conspiracy theories and how conspiracy theories are founded upon an extraordinarily large amount of skepticism. In section III, Keely discusses what a conspiracy theory is, and contends that there is no grounds for

Perfectly sane minds possess the possibility of creating the most fascinating narratives. Conspiracies are a way to react to being powerless or uncertain. Economic recessions, terrorists’ attacks, and deaths of the young and famous happen and when they do people do not know what to think or believe. Their minds react in overdrive

“The (WTC) collapse appeared to be similar to a controlled demolition” (Thomas, 07/08/2011). Many speculated that the towers were in fact blown down with explosives placed in selected locations. Some witnesses accounted hearing explosions inside the building as they attempted to escape the building. Many architects and scientists maintain that jet fuel cannot produce enough heat to melt the steel frame of the two buildings. There were no planes to hit building 7 of the trade center, but it was demolished in the same fashion as the twin towers were.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a preliminary report on May 2002 using video footage and annotated foundation plans. FEMA made findings that the collapse was solely caused by fires on multiple stories. It was lit by debris from the other two towers that burned for a long time as a result of the lack of manual firefighting and water sprinklers. The report didn’t find anything that would give a definite answer as to why the building fell and so it prompted for a further investigation.

According to History.com, “at 8:45 am on a clear Tuesday morning, a Boeing 767 crashed into the North Tower. It left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110 story skyscraper”. Also, according to History.com, “18 minutes after the first 767 hit the North Tower, a second 767

To be sure, in virtually every major conspiracy case to come before the Court since 1987, the government has won convincingly, often times with nary a dissent. My own view is that the Supreme Court has unwisely embraced so enthusiastically both the conspiracy doctrine and the manner in which it is prosecuted. In the major conspiracy cases I discuss below, I contend that the prudent course here was not to do what the Justices did: strongly support, in almost every instance, the government position and ignore the reach of the conspiracy offense, a reach which continues to expand. Moreover, it was not at all clear in these cases that an even-handed approach would have necessarily led to the broad reaffirmation of conspiracy doctrine and rules of practice. Still, in reading these cases, one is struck by just how strongly the Justices have spoken in supporting such prosecutions. It is to those cases, and the rationale for them, to which I will soon turn in this

This paper will open the eyes of many. The truth shall be prevailed and the lies will end. In this literature review there were 10 sources, and these 10 sources talked about conspiracy theories. Theses conspiracy theories also prove 9/11 wrong. There will be hate, denial, patriotism, and revenge for those who died on the September 11th, 2001. It is the right of the free people to find what really happened and the truth is

To most a fairy tale, to some an interesting topic of discussion, however, to a small population, 5 % to be exact, Government conspiracy does exist. How, you might ask, do I intend to prove that indeed government conspiracy is real? I do not intend to prove it. In fact I only intend to inform you of its ever growing ploy of world domination, capitalism and control and open your mind to the idea that government conspiracy is out there. Throughout history as it is known to repeat itself, I will show facts that support this “theory” and dismiss the legendary lies we have been taught to believe through a system known as memetics.

Olmsted is arguing that the American interest in conspiracies today is the result of a group of amateur conspiracy theorist, who were positive that the U.S government was hiding the truth about the assassination of President JFK. Olmsted argues that at the time of the JFK assassination 76% of the public trusted the government, however, by 1990, in the wake of the “citizen sleuths” determination to find the truth, a mere 21% trust the government. (Both statistics can be found on pg.672, pg.690)

Conspiracy theory is one of the most noticeable phenomenon of the present time, which is permanently drawing the attention of society and gives a subject for discussions, publications in the press, popular books and movies. Having literally magic appeal and promising to tell about how everything was “actually”, conspiracies attract more and more people. Alien invasion, the Moon-landing, assassination of John F. Kennedy, chemtrails, September 11 attacks, New World Order, Barack Obama citizenship and religion conspiracy theories and numerous others conspiracies have become a part of an American culture and a public discourse .

Many news reporters stated that the reasoning behind the building’s collapse was due to the small, contained fire inside the Building. If this was true, that marked the first day in history that a building with a steel frame ever fell due to flames. If you’re not following me yet, just picture this: just as the handle of a frying pan doesn’t get hot at the same rate of speed as the part over the fire, the steel work on the Building near the fire could not have triggered the whole building’s steel structure to collapse. Steel buildings are known to continue to hold their structure through fires. Hence the reasoning behind why so many firemen died on 9/11, because they

People claim to have heard an explosion in the towers before the plane penetrated the building. For example, Edmund McNally called his wife Liz twice after a plane hit the second world trade center. He said, “Liz, this was a terrorist attack. I can hear explosions below me” (9/11 Firefighters: Bombs and Explosions in the WTC). Edmunds phone call to his wife questions if planes were the only cause of the thousands of deaths and collapse of the twin towers. There have been many eyewitness accounts concluding that those individuals heard explosions beneath them of what they believed to be bombs and secondary devices. Others have claimed to hear firefighters yelling about explosions. Tom Elliot, being a firsthand survivor of the attacks, claimed he “saw only two firemen going up. They told him there had been an explosion near the 60th floor” (9/11 Firefighters: Bombs and Explosions in the WTC). This explosion happened before the aircraft hit the second world trade center. If in fact this statement from Tom Elliot is true, many questions are left unanswered as to what these explosions came from. The New York Fire Department Chief of Safety can answer the unknown by concluding that “there were bombs and secondary devices, which caused the explosions in the buildings” (More Proof 911 Inside Job - Witnesses to WTC Explosives). Also, many reports were taken on the day of the attack documenting the exact time the planes hit, the

The phrase “conspiracy theory” is often expressed with a negative connotation and used as a label for the explanation of outlandish incidents that are hard for the everyday person to comprehend. Conspiracy theorists are often labeled as lunatics that spit out senseless claims with no real substance. “The mere mention of the word ‘conspiracy’ seems to set off an internal alarm bell that causes scholars to close their minds in order to avoid cognitive dissonance and possible unpleasantness, since the popular image of conspiracy both fundamentally challenges the conception most educated, sophisticated people have about how the world operates…” (Bale). What is often unspoken is that conspiracy theories have a real effect on the political

However, Fenster fails to show the nature of politics in relation to culture that leads conspiracy theories to arise in every historical event. This is due to his frustrating use of too much historical detail on conspiracy theories in relation to culture (mass media and fictional writing). In contrast to Fenster examination of conspiracy theory, Knight would critics his book, because of his excess use of data on conspiracy. As Knight argues attempt to understand conspiracy from “gold standard of rationality" views paranoid style of thinking.

- A good conspiracy theory is an “improvable” one. (The idea that many important political events or economic and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public {Dictionary.com}/ implying a paranoid tendency to see the influence of some malign covert agency in events {Wikipedia}/folklore / secret knowledge/ urban legend= a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humour, moralizing, or horror {Dictionary.com})