Conspiracy Theories, Skepticism, and Critical Thinking

The focus of many conspiracy theories, the direct super theories are often held, by believers, to be the responsibility of those that are termed "elites." The "elites" here are usually a group of individuals that have no responsibility to anyone else but themselves, are secret, and exclusive. They go by many names: the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the Bilderbergers, the Council on Foreign Relations, etc. These are the groups responsible for ushering in a "New World Order" that will have large effects that are typically explained in two camps: the first camp is unspecified cataclysm. The downfall of civilization is always the end result coupled with a fascist/totalitarian government in charge The second camp is ultra specific and is sometimes literally camps. The subversion of the monetary system through the federal reserve, usually explained by people that have little understanding of monetary systems and the federal reserve. The elimination of specific rig...

Note: This is the introduction to my topical defense for my PhD dissertation. I've been working on a heavy rewrite which is why this blog has been updated so infrequently. I'll be posting sections and snippets of the topical defense. All comments are welcome. We cannot be more painfully insulted then when someone takes the trouble to destroy the illusions in which our vanity has veiled itself.”—Adam Weishaupt (founder of the actual Illuminati), Diogenes’ Lamp (1804)             We have all been exposed to conspiracy theories. Anyone who has spent more than a passing moment on the internet will no doubt have scrolled passed or perhaps even clicked on a story that purported to tell the real truth of some event, current or past. This was once not the case, but conspiracy theories and conspiracism (the belief in them) is now a regular occurrence. The internet made it everywhere, while in the early 90s conspiracy theories be...