Conspiracy Theory According to Dentith


In the words of Dentith, there are three goals that must be won for a theory to be a “conspiracy theory”: first, there must be a group of people with a set plan; second, there must be steps that are taken by said “group” in order to minimize the awareness of the public; third, the proposed conspiracy theory must meet some “goal” of the group. Most importantly, Dentith states that the “three conditions are both individually necessary and jointly sufficient”. (p. 23)
Now, let us go more in depth into each of these conditions.

The Conspiracy Condition


“… people conspire together rather than alone, and so it is a necessary condition … that there exists a set of agents commonly known as ‘conspirators.’” (pp.23-4) This quote is pretty straightforward; Dentith argues that a conspiracy must have a group behind it because, by definition, people conspirize together.

The Secrecy Condition


“If it turns out that the conspirators have even some limited success in keeping their plots and machinations secret, this could be used to explain why certain details about their identity or goal remain unknown.” (p. 24) Dentith differs from many other of the philosophers mentioned in this database in that he actually offers an expanded secrecy definition that fully covers what role intent plays in fulfilling the secrecy condition. To Dentith, so long as the conspirators had “limited success”, this condition can be fulfilled.

The Goal Condition


“What is important here is that the conspirators desire some end, not the end itself.” (p. 24) That is to say that if the original goal of the conspirators is not achieved, this condition can still be satisfied so long as original intent can be determined.

Bibliography
1. Dentith, Matthew R.X. “Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories.” The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories. Palgrave Macmillan. 2014. Web. <http://conspiracytheory.wikidot.com/wiki:skepticism>. Original Date of Access: 4 October 2019.
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