Conspiracy Theory: the fictitious explanation involving mysterious and vague "powers" that are tied to the failures of those afflicted with the delusion. This shifting of blame provides an emotional fulfillment that explains their own failings without requiring difficult introspection and self-assessment. Depending on degree of delusion, it can encompass a secretive
plot that includes pretty much everyone that the subject considers adversaries, even on a global scale.
It is an especially pernicious affliction from a clinical standpoint since the arguments are airtight. Every piece of evidence against it will be viewed as an attempt to "misinform the public", and the lack of evidence for it is viewed as a
government cover-up since nothing can constitute evidence that the conspiracy is fictitious.
At best, you'll always
fail to
sway the subject but you can
help innoculate others through reason in dialogues and debates, such as the problem of scaling." The Moon landing was a hoax conspiracy, for instance, would requite tens of thousands of co-conspirators who have kept silent through the decades.
Some
popular delusions of this variety:
Big Pharma is poisoning our
children!
Evolution is a secular plot to take God out of the classroom!
The Moon landing was faked!
Climate change is a hoax to subvert freedom lovers under UN dominion!
Obama's birth certificate is a
fraud because he was born in Kenya!
The Sandy Hook massacre was staged by the
government to round up our guns!
His
conspiracy theory was that lizard-headed alien overlords are responsible for our concern about
global warming and no evidence could possibly demonstrate otherwise because he insisted it
came from the "overlords" themselves.
