Disclaimer: I'm not certain this is the right forum for this topic. I'm interested in a more clinic viewpoint on this, as opposed to drifting straight on into conspiracy theories themselves. If this isn't the right location, please feel free to move it ;)
I'm wondering if there's a connection between what I'll very generally call conspiracy theories and mental health. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm including under "conspiracy theories" a significant portion of belief in the paranormal or other woo that is paired with a belief that some person or organization doesn't want the truth known. For example:
There are any number of theories out there, where a person believes something that appears completely irrational, and for which they have no evidence except personal experience. Sometimes they will say that "science" is conspiring to refuse the evidence they have. Sometimes it's an organized plot. Sometimes it's nothing more than "this is new knowledge that only I have, you have to believe me". They all have in common a belief in something well outside of known science, without factual support or strong evidence, and for which a barrier to the presentation of evidence exists that is beyond their control.
These all seem as if they could be symptoms of a mental disorder, at least to me the armchair psychologist. I've tried to google a little bit, but I've had difficulty figuring out the correct search terms to find what I'm after. And of course, I keep ending up with blogs and reddit comments opining that a conspiracy theorists is out of their tree... which clouds the issue.
Does anyone have any viable opinions, or perhaps a source to support or refute my fledgling hypothesis?
I'm wondering if there's a connection between what I'll very generally call conspiracy theories and mental health. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm including under "conspiracy theories" a significant portion of belief in the paranormal or other woo that is paired with a belief that some person or organization doesn't want the truth known. For example:
- Evidence for bigfoot is being purposefully hidden
- Scientists are covering up a new force that invalidates the newtonian model of physics
- Cancer can be cured by meditation but Big Pharma doesn't want you to know
There are any number of theories out there, where a person believes something that appears completely irrational, and for which they have no evidence except personal experience. Sometimes they will say that "science" is conspiring to refuse the evidence they have. Sometimes it's an organized plot. Sometimes it's nothing more than "this is new knowledge that only I have, you have to believe me". They all have in common a belief in something well outside of known science, without factual support or strong evidence, and for which a barrier to the presentation of evidence exists that is beyond their control.
These all seem as if they could be symptoms of a mental disorder, at least to me the armchair psychologist. I've tried to google a little bit, but I've had difficulty figuring out the correct search terms to find what I'm after. And of course, I keep ending up with blogs and reddit comments opining that a conspiracy theorists is out of their tree... which clouds the issue.
Does anyone have any viable opinions, or perhaps a source to support or refute my fledgling hypothesis?
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2a9QWUF
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire