Anne E Illerbrun via Kevin Proteau The psychologist Floyd Rudmin takes it further: ‘Conspiracy theory’ is usually used as a pejorative label, meaning paranoid, nutty, marginal, and certainly untrue. The power of this pejorative is that it discounts a theory by attacking the motivations and mental competence of those who advocate the theory. By labeling an explanation of events ‘conspiracy theory,’ evidence and argument are dismissed because they come from a mentally or morally deficient personality, not because they have been shown to be incorrect. Calling an explanation of events ‘conspiracy theory’ means, in effect, ‘We don’t like you, and no one should listen to your explanation.’[12]
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 14:50:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015