Classic conspiracy theories are explanations of events by secret small groups
Evidence
The Declaration showed how the various abuses of Parliament and the Crown constituted in aggregate a settled design to extinguish liberty in North America: explanation was at the heart of the matter. The philosopher Brian Keeley says this is true for conspiracy theories in general: “A conspiracy theory is a proposed explanation of some historical event … in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of persons … acting in secret,” which is to say, “a conspiracy theory deserves the appellation ‘theory’ because it proffers an explanation of the event in question.” — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 60
Categorization
- DEFINE: Keeley’s formal definition of what makes a conspiracy claim earn the word ‘theory’ — it must actually explain an event.
- XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theories about ruling elites date to ancient Rome. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 70; Conspiracy theories describe an eternal secret nation behind visible events; Outsiders misconstrue tightly organized social groups as secret conspiracies. (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Conspiracy theories describe an eternal secret nation behind visible events
#corroborates(0.90) - New conspiracism differs from classic conspiracy theory in kind
#responds-to(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 185 - Conspiracy theories function mainly to identify enemies, not narrate coherent plots
#contradicts(0.80) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 64 - Outsiders misconstrue tightly organized social groups as secret conspiracies.
#qualifies(0.75)