"Conspiracy theory" and sound argumentation: the method of cocaine politics for resolving "conflicting world views" (excerpt).

"Conspiracy theory" and sound argumentation: the method of cocaine politics for resolving "conflicting world views" (excerpt). Introduction: Recent work in communication and cultural studies has shown that,more than most other terms, the concept of "conspiracy"--agroup of people acting in secrecy for an unlawful purpose--has becomelayered with so many emotional connotations, that the term is morevolatile than meaningful. In fact, "conspiracy" is morefrequently elevated from a noun to a more abstract concept in the phrase"conspiracy theory conspiracy theoryn.A theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act.conspiracy theorist n. ." Every conspiracy theory--from the ascentof Richard III Richard III,1452–85, king of England (1483–85), younger brother of Edward IV. Created duke of Gloucester at Edward's coronation (1461), he served his brother faithfully during Edward's lifetime—fighting at Barnet and Tewkesbury and later invading to the English throne to the alleged connections betweenthe Bush-Bin Ladin family--has its vociferous adherents and detractors. Mark Fenster's Conspiracy Theories ''This is a list of conspiracy theories; it contains alleged conspiracies that are not accepted by mainstream academics. For a discussion of conspiracy theories in general, see conspiracy theory. : Secrecy and Power inAmerican Culture both moves forward scholarly examination of thecontested term "conspiracy theory" and suggests an excellentarea to examine the conference's theme of Confronting theChallenges of Conflicting World Views. It is the plan of this paper to1) review the work of Fenster's acknowledged predecessor, RichardHofstadter Richard Hofstadter (August 6, 1916 - October 24, 1970) was an American historian and DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University. One of the leading public intellectuals of the 1950s, his works include The Age of Reform (1955) and on the notion of "conspiracy" in American politics,then to 2) review Fenster's additions to Hofstadter's critiqueof the term "conspiracy theory," thus emphasizing how the termcontinues to be a source of conflicting world views, and finally to 3)suggest preliminary strategies for cogently and meaningfully debating agiven conspiracy theory by examining Peter Dale Scott Peter Dale Scott (born 1929) is a Canadian poet and a former English professor at the University of California, Berkeley. The son of noted Canadian poet and constitutional lawyer F. R. Scott, he is known for his anti-war stance and his criticism of U.S. and JonathanMarshall's model text Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies and the CIA CIA:see Central Intelligence Agency. (1) (Confidentiality Integrity Authentication) The three important concerns with regards to information security. Encryption is used to provide confidentiality (privacy, secrecy). in Central America Central America,narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. . Hofstadter's "Pathology" of "ConspiracyTheory" Hofstadter is credited by Fenster and others with having begungroundbreaking work on the concept of conspiracy theory with his 1963Oxford lecture that was later published in Harper's under the title"The Paranoid Style in American Politics." With this essay,Hofstadter commented on two aspects of conspiracy theory that are withus today--the tremendous scope of such conspiracy theories and theself-righteous attitudes of those who believe and oppose suchconspiracies. First, more than a group executing secretive and criminal behavior,conspiracies are seen by the theorist as a force in shaping history. Toestablish this meaning of conspiracy, Hofstadter examines conspiraciesof the 18th and 19th centuries in American political discourse and findsthat he can use "political rhetoric to get at politicalpathology." This "pathology" is shown in conspiraciesattributed to Illuminati Illuminati(ĭl'mĭnā`tī, –nä`tē)[Lat.,=enlightened], rationalistic society founded in Germany soon after 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, a professor at Ingolstadt, , Freemasons This is a list of notable Freemasons. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation which exists in a number of forms worldwide. Throughout history some members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvement, while others have not made their membership public. , Catholics and then Jews. In eachcase, Hofstadter finds that rather than building clear evidence insupport of a given theory, the theory itself is used as evidence insupport of particular political parties that espouse "Americanvalues" or "American liberty." In the political situationcreated by the conspiracy theory, these vague positive values are heldup against the specific but unsupported accusations of evil andconspiracy, thus creating the fallacy of the undistributed middle The fallacy of the undistributed middle is a logical fallacy that is committed when the middle term in a categorical syllogism isn't distributed. It is thus a syllogistic fallacy. , anon-existent middle-ground between political extremes. The pattern forthis development, Hofstadter says, arises from a "folk movement ofconsiderable power." Such "movement" against thisconspiratorial con��spir��a��to��ri��al?adj.Of, relating to, or characteristic of conspirators or a conspiracy: a conspiratorial act; a conspiratorial smile. network of, say, Freemasons, gained "the support ofseveral reputable statesmen who had only mild sympathy with itsfundamental basis, but who as politicians could not afford to ignoreit." The second element that balances the evil of the conspiracy is thehero who recognizes and warns of global manipulation by theconspiratorial network. Such a hero would be "a member of theavant-garde who is capable of perceiving the conspiracy before it isfully obvious to an as yet unaroused public. The paranoid is a militantleader. He does not see social conflict as something to be mediated andcompromised, in the manner of the working politician." Thishero's "demand for unqualified victories leads to theformulation of hopelessly demanding and unrealistic goals." Hofstadter's analysis presents a prime example of theconference theme, "conflicting world views," for the extremeadherence to the belief of the evil conspiracy creates its opposite: theextremely virtuous and moral anti-conspirator. Summarizing thispolarizing view--what he calls "the paranoidstyle"--Hofstadter writes, History is a conspiracy, set in motion by demonic forces of almost transcendent power, and what is felt to be needed to defeat it is not the usual methods of political give and take, but an all-out crusade. The paranoid spokesman sees the fate of this conspiracy in apocalyptic terms--he traffics in the birth and death of whole worlds, whole political orders, whole systems of human values. The polarizing effect, which above Hofstadter describes as"demonic forces" opposed to an "all-out crusade,"continues today but with the additional layers of our ironic culture. JON BOUKNIGHT CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE Central Oregon Community College is a community college located in Bend, Oregon, United States. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes County and Jefferson County. External linksCentral Oregon Community College (official website) , HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY OF OREGON The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. , COURTESY APPOINTMENT