Are Conspiracy Theorists Mentally Ill?

Some provocative articles on the massive amount of conspiracy material on the internet.

What's Behind Internet Conspiracy Empires?

Illuminati, The New World Order & Paranoid Conspiracy Theorists (PCTs)

Are Conspiracy Theorists Mentally Ill?

thats funny ... yes, there are some of us that should be mentally ill ... but, there are somethings that you cannot say that is the truth, you need to explore the possibilities ... the mentally ill doesnt accept anything besides what he thinks is the truth ....

if we use this logic, there are more mentally ill people outside ats ... all religious people ...

I don't believe I'm mentally ill, though I'm sure I have plenty of friends and relatives that would argue otherwise.

I'd rather be thought of as crazy while exploring all the little nooks and crannies of life than simply believe what I'm told to believe, though that would be the easier path.

in varying degrees, everyone is mentally ill.
there is no such thing as a perfect definition for normal, and everyone's judgment is based on their own beliefs and life experience.
so i guess i'm very happily

It is silly to lump all conspiracy theorist under one umbrella of "mentally ill"

I, for one, like to read about potential conspiracies. I am not a theorist by definition because I hold no theories, yet I explore the possibility of many.

Am I mentally ill? I don't think so. I will admit though that my thinking style is different than many. Call it what you will.

And here's a question: is there maybe more than one group of people who believe they are the "illuminati"?

Is Leo Zagami's supposed group maybe only one such group?

And then, are they all for real (competing or complementary factions), all delusionists, or just one real and the rest delusionists?

I think most people could be called "mentally ill" by at least one other. Where could you draw a line?

I pride myself on being eccentric and individual and I'm an absolute skeptic.

Am I mentally ill? ... Sure, and it feels great to be normal.

I think there is a campaign going on to make people believe that ''conspiracy theorists'' are lunatics, the same way that's been done in the past with UFO's. They make a bunch of movies on the subject and they make it seem unbelievable so that if a person actually saw a ufo he would be hesitant to tell people since most are programmed to see it as hollywood stuff so you must be crazy.

There are a lot of movies on the subject recently and I am seeing more and more articles on the subject of conspiracies only the articles don't question if the theories have merit or not they just question the theorists sanity.

No I do not think most of them are mentally ill, I just think that because they don't understand science and the scientific processes behind some things, they try to come up with other reasons of why things happen and to justify what they see. If you see something that you just can't explain, your brain automatically tries to come up with a reason of why you are seeing it - even if it's not the right reason. It's just how the human brain works.

I'll give a good example: Chemtrails. Anyone with a background in meteorology at all, even if just an introductory 100-level college class, knows that "Chemtrails" are just normal contrails, because you learn how clouds form and can apply the very same scientific information to contrails. But people who have not learned anything about meteorology or the science behind it, do not understand how clouds or contrails form, so to help them understand why they are seeing contrails, their brain creates this crazy theory that the evil government is spraying chemicals in the air.


Another good example is UFOs. Yes, more than likely most UFOs we see really are swamp gas or lenticular clouds. But again, because people who have no background in meteorology, geology, or any earth science have no idea of the scientific processes behind things, their brain tries to create a reason to help them justify what they are seeing. So immediately, they assume what they are seeing is an alien craft from outer space.


With that said, yes I'm sure there are some conspiracy theories on here that are true, but probably the more believable ones like secret government groups or NWO groups. Those have existed before in history, there's no reason they can't exist again in our time. Humans find strength in numbers, it's a natural human instinct. So naturally, some humans want to create secret groups to gain more power.





[edit on 14-2-2009 by ProfessorRusso]

Oh, absolutely conspiracy theorists are mentally ill. No question!

For instance, take that conspiracy theory the government tried to feed us on 9/11. How could any sane person try to pawn that off on 19 hijackers within 48 hours of it happening, refuse an investigation for a over a year, and then set up the 911 Omission to feed us more conspiracy theories- when the evidence clearly indicates otherwise! Yeah they're insane, no question!

Or what about Operation Northwoods, which was singed off on by the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff? What sane person could ever justify the slaughter of innocent Americans to pursue political and profit agendas for the military industrial complex? You're damned straight they were insane!

And how about all those conspiracy theories the government fed us about Iraqi ties to Al-Queda, when that was created by the CIA itself, along with Bin Laden? Bush even admitted Iraq had no ties to Al-Queda!

Yup, those conspiracy theorists sure are insane. I just don't understand why they are running our government, time and time again. :shk:

Plenty of them are, aye. Some aren't, mind.

I think one of the keys for positive change in this world is for us, ie we interested in CT's, to rehabilitate the term conspiracy theorist, so that instead of a derogatory a priori insult it gains the same sort of academia recognition as would a physics theorist or a sociological study, the latter of which conspiracy theory is of course part.

Anyone with half a forehead by now realizes that there is indeed a massive amount of corruption in human affairs and that some sort of selection mechanism does indeed exist which all but assures that corrupt materialists are the ones filtered into power. This is blatently obvious now, on the eve of the NWO's outing.

The isolation of so called conspiracy theorist is a repression mechanism, by isolating and classifying the fascists hope to one day be able to medicate and alienate, making their life as sadistic powermongering bastards that much easier. We should not let the negative memetics around "conspiracy theory" to survive. To be a conspiracy theorist is to be a historian, it is to be a philosopher, it is to be a psychologist, it is even, in some cases, to be a etymologist, occultist and geneologist. All valid academic branches. The only thing conspiracy theory does not have is the recognition of authority, because it is that very authority which the truth behind conspiracy theory undermines.

There is one last thing to say, I guess. In a world gone mad, it is the sane that appear insane, is it not? Don't let the sand get in your eyes. All three of them.

Originally posted by AccessDenied
there is no such thing as a perfect definition for normal

Umm, yes there is. It's called: Average.

I see my self as a very strange person. My family and friends, and anybody else that knows me well enough would agree. I get high, and sit around, thinking of all the things that could be. I will stand by some of the craziest theories, if the argument appears, while I'm near. But I don't care what the general mass of people think of me. If I'm a nut, then so be it. My family and freinds still love me, and that's good enough. As long as I can still get what I need to survive in the world, I don't consider my self mentally "Ill".

I heard there is an official entree in the Physiology reference book now.

I think some are, definitely. Some at least suffer from paranoia. But several also are simply people who have noticed a few thigns that don't add up.

One thing that all "conspiracy theories" share - the common factor (and ultimately what legitimizes them), is that they are all based on unanswered questions.

Now, how thoroughly the various "official" and "status-quo" based explanations "answer" these questions is going to vary on each individual.

Am I mentally ill? Maybe, but that would have nothing to do with the two facts I just mentioned.

[edit - punctuation]

[edit on 2/14/2009 by Teratoma]