Conspiracy Theories (feat. Brian Keeley)

Overthink

Ellie Anderson, Ph.D. and David Peña-Guzmán, Ph.D.

Philosophy, Society & Culture, Education

4.7 • 550 Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2021

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On episode 12 of Overthink, Ellie and David sit down with philosopher Brian Keeley to discuss conspiracy theories. The three examine both the appeal of conspiracy theories and the dire need for public trust in institutions to combat such beliefs. Following last week’s far-right attack on the Capitol, Ellie and David consider the particularly American nature of conspiracy theories that has existed since the nation's founding. Finally, they discuss the way conspiracy theories root within families and communities and pull people apart.

Works Discussed
Brian Keeley, "Of Conspiracy Theories"
Anne Applebaum, "Trump and His Heirs Dream of Endless Victory"
Jared Millson, "Conspiracy Theories"
Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook, "The Conspiracy Theory Handbook"
Charles Pigden, "Before Conspiracy Theories and the Conventional Wisdom"
Mack Lamoureux, “People Tell Us How QAnon Destroyed Their Relationships”
J. Eric Oliver and Thomas J. Wood, "Conspiracy Theories and the Paranoid Style(s) of Mass Opinion"

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Ellie Anderson.
0:08.8	And I'm David Peña Guzman.
0:11.2	Welcome to Overthink.
0:12.7	The podcast where two friends, who are also professors, put philosophy and dialogue with the
0:17.8	everyday.
0:19.0	Because big ideas are within everyone's reach.
0:25.6	David, recently we recorded an episode on conspiracy theories that features our first ever interview-e.
0:32.6	And we're planning to release this episode at the end of January, but we've decided to push up the release date to now because it seems like an especially timely moment to talk about conspiracy theories given the storming of the Capitol building, because the whole storming of the Capitol revolves around the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged.
0:53.6	One of the images that has become iconic of this moment is the photograph of that guy
1:00.4	with the horns who is a well-known Q&ONO supporter.
1:06.0	Yes, he's wearing what I saw one commentator call it Chewbacca bikini. And this is like, to me,
1:13.3	partly hilarious. Of course, it's not hilarious. It's absolutely terrifying. But there is some
1:19.3	element of just like ridiculous cosplay that's going on in these people's militia outfits. I just,
1:26.7	the optics of this are straight out of Duck Dynasty,
1:30.0	which makes it even scarier.
1:31.5	That's an actual attack on the Capitol building that was successful.
1:34.1	Yeah, and it reminds me of a concept that Michel Foucault uses,
1:37.3	which is the concept of the Ubu-esque,
1:39.7	which is a term that he takes from a plague,
1:42.6	Uruguay in French, and it takes from a plague, Uburoix, in French,
1:44.7	and it essentially captures a figure,
1:48.0	King Ubu, who is both a buffoon figure,
	...

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