Why Pseudoscientific Claims are Relevant
My dissertation is on conspiracy theories, and one chapter of that dissertation concerns the demarcation line between science and pseudoscience. My dissertation topical defense will be within a month from now and I am working on fixing the written defense for the oral presentation of it. The demarcation chapter is, admittedly the weakest part, mainly because the connection between science-pseudoscience and conspiracy theory-theory of conspiracy isn't that clear. Also because the crux of the argument is based on a legal argument that is related to a court case regarding intelligent design in the classroom. Essentially, my fix of this chapter is to make a large justification for why it matters, which to me, is one of those things that is so obvious that I have trouble writing it down. The issue at large is that pseudoscientific thinking is conspiracy thinking. We just don't usually frame it that way. Conspiracy theories are typically thought of in stereotypes of shadow organi