Conspiracism is not bullshit because it cares about being affirmed as reality.
Evidence
There is another way to try to characterize the claim to own reality, one that conforms to philosopher Harry Frankfurt’s concept of bullshit, which he defines as an indifference to the truth or falsity of things. In the myriad falsehoods he utters every day, Trump is manifestly indifferent to the truth of what he says. But his conspiracism is different. It is not bullshit. He is not blithely indifferent to the truth or falsity of his conspiracist claims. He presents an emphatic picture of political reality, and he cares very much that others affirm his reality. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 166
Categorization
- DEFINE: Distinguishes conspiracism from Frankfurt’s bullshit via investment in one’s own claims, a precise definitional cut.
- APHORISMS: Implicit here: caring that others affirm your account is not the same as caring that it is true.
- XREF: connects to: New conspiracism abandons evidence while classic conspiracism theorizes it; Conspiracists falsely portray themselves as skeptical critical thinkers — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 265; For conspiracy believers, the conspiracy is an axiom, not a conclusion — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 812 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- For conspiracy believers, the conspiracy is an axiom, not a conclusion
#corroborates(0.82) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 812 - Conspiracy functions as an alternative epistemology when interpretation has no ground truth
#expands(0.75) — , The Braided Reading EPUB, 105 - Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system
#complicates(0.72) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 93