Epistemic closure makes conspiracists unable to be true skeptics

Evidence

Conspiracists embrace the self-conception that they are skeptics and critical thinkers. But their own epistemic closure undercuts the capacity for skepticism. When knowledge-based pluralism is closed down, when sources are delegitimized and thrust outside the orbit of consideration, when conspiracist transmitters have lost the capacity for receiving, the framework of questioning and assurance is undone. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 272

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains why conspiracists’ self-image as critical thinkers is unfounded: skepticism requires openness, which closure precludes.
• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theorists reinterpret absence of proof and challenges as confirming evidence — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 216; Disconfirmed prophecies get reinterpreted rather than abandoned when believers are invested — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 87; Conspiracist claims that sever assertion from verifiability also destroy genuine skepticism — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 264 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracist claims that sever assertion from verifiability also destroy genuine skepticism #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 264
• Conspiracism undermines rather than expresses democratic skepticism about experts #corroborates (0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 269
• Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted #expands (0.70)