The true meaning of "Conspiracy theory"

Did you ever thought about the fact that.....

Conspiracy theory

..is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy. However, it has become largely pejorative and used almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by conspirators of almost superhuman power and cunning.

Conspiracy theories are viewed with skepticism by the scientific community and academia, and often ridiculed by pundits, because they are rarely supported by any conclusive evidence and contrast with institutional analysis, which focuses on people's collective behavior in publicly known institutions, as recorded in scholarly material and mainstream media reports, to explain historical or current events, rather than speculate on the motives and actions of secretive coalitions of individuals.

The term is therefore often used dismissively in an attempt to characterize a belief as outlandishly false and held by a person judged to be a crank or a group confined to the lunatic fringe. Such characterization is often the subject of dispute due to its possible unfairness and inaccuracy.

In the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, conspiracy theories have become commonplace in mass media. This has contributed to conspiracism emerging as a cultural phenomenon and the possible replacement of democracy by conspiracy as the dominant paradigm of political action in the public mind.

According to anthropologists Todd Sanders and Harry G. West, "evidence suggests that a broad cross section of Americans today…gives credence to at least some conspiracy theories." Belief in conspiracy theories has therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in folklore.

Link: en.wikipedia.org...



The problem I see is: How can we know what theory can be true and which not. It's all based on our "knowing-set" and our fantasy. So how can we ever know on what a Conspiracy Theory is grounded on? You never can prove them. So are we just lazy Internet users who "kill" our time? Are we a kind of ill - is ATS unhealthy?

Add:
Or is it a kind of Game?

[edit on 16-2-2010 by cushycrux]

The term 'Conspiracy theory/ theorist' is only common and known because it has been a term specifically given a negative connotation to label all those who question 'the official word'

Think about it: if you actually believe there is a secret power controlling all of us, the question becomes how we should deal with it. Answer: you cannot, because all of these conspiracy powers are way too powerful for the typically stupid, ignorant and blind public, who cannot see the Ultimate Truth. So what do we do? We lie down and become victims. Conspiracy theorists preach from an underdog perspective and suggest there's nothing we can do but to whine. And as we all know, such people are the easiest to manipulate...

reply to post by concernedcitizan


A brave and possibly true answer.

Gee, and all this time the theory of someone or group conspiring to make change use to be an America view of democracy ... today its being used against us.

[edit on 11/03/2008 by Skydancer]

reply to post by cushycrux


This is not to say that conspiracies are harmless. History shows that small groups can earn a lot of influential power. Therefore a healthy society strives to create a strong consensus on values, suppressing those who try to create divisions among the people. In this light we understand that conspiracy thinking is neither harmless nor really effective. Intelligent people analyze events intelligently. They look at the structure of things, examine the design of political, social and religious systems, and find the weak holes.

Conspiracy thinkers are correct in that certain groups are able to take advantage of those holes, but are wrong in how to proceed. If we fix the hole, or in some cases reform the whole system, the "outsiders" haven't much to beg for. That is what Freemasons, wealthy capitalists and Zionists fear and that is where the ultimate solution to the problem lies.

reply to post by cushycrux

Intellectually, I'm a lot more comfortable being a Conspiracy Theorist, than being a Coincidence Theorist...which really seems to be the other side of the coin.

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
reply to post by cushycrux

 

Intellectually, I'm a lot more comfortable being a Conspiracy Theorist, than being a Coincidence Theorist...which really seems to be the other side of the coin.

hm, is that no the same, but you just feel more intellectual?

I see it as a pejorative more than anything. When people say something's a conspiracy theory, ie "just a conspiracy theory", they're saying it's silly and untrue.

reply to post by Donnie Darko


Some people misusing the term as a insulting, I know. For me, this is the first stage of the foolishness. but there are other stages...

Originally posted by cushycrux

Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
reply to post by cushycrux

 

Intellectually, I'm a lot more comfortable being a Conspiracy Theorist, than being a Coincidence Theorist...which really seems to be the other side of the coin.

hm, is that no the same, but you just feel more intellectual?

A 'coincidence theorist'...as I call it...simply writes off all of those disturbing parallel facts and occurrences as 'mere coincidence'. I find that I cannot reasonably accept such simplistic answers to account for so many of life's mysteries...like why, for instance, so many bad guys were in Dallas when Kennedy was killed, if Oswald was a lone nut. That sort of thing.

I took part in a compensated, mock trial paid for by one of the undisclosed parties involved in a class action lawsuit between Medical Doctors and the top 7 health insurance companies. It lasted for more than a week. The trial was based on a Conspiracy charge.

To make a long story short: a learned a lot about the technicalities of a Conspiracy. According to the definition, just about every important decision ever made was originally a conspiracy. If it wasnt a conspiracy it was some totalitarian monarch that made the decision their self, which in my book, is even worse.

The technical definition is not the common diction that we have come to agree upon though, we must first then, consider the agreed upon version of what a conspiracy theory is, which has already been stated in this thread.

Conspiracy Theories work on human nature. Our existence is comprised of many mysteries. It is the nature of our consciousness to want to fill in the gaps. When we are encountered with a problem, a mystery if you will, we are faced with a great predicament. We will struggle to fill in the gaps and solve the puzzle but, for the pieces that we are not able to make fit we will always want to create the pieces ourselves.

This is where conspiracy theories come in; we have tended to follow our intuition to fill the gaps. Sure, we use facts and substantial evidence but it is those things which contribute the most to our theories. If we find a connection here we then connect that dot to another.

Conspiracy theories may be true in many cases, but their nature lies within ourselves.

The figures that are often subject of our theories are well aware of this too. They are aware and use them to their advantage.

Not only have many of these figures originally developed many of the understandings of how it works but they have certainly originated many of the strongest theories that are alive even today.