List of conspiracy theories

The Eye of Providence, or the all-seeing eye of God, seen here on the US$1 bill, has been taken by some to be evidence of a conspiracy involving the Founding Fathers of the United States and the Illuminati.[1]: 58 [2]: 47–49 

This is a list of notable conspiracy theories. Many conspiracy theories relate to supposed clandestine government plans and elaborate murder plots.[3] They usually deny consensus opinion and cannot be proven using historical or scientific methods, and are not to be confused with research concerning verified conspiracies, such as Germany's pretense for invading Poland in World War II.

In principle, conspiracy theories might not always be false, and their validity depends on evidence as for any theory. However, they are often implausible prima facie due to their convoluted and all-encompassing nature.[3]

Psychologists sometimes attribute proclivities toward conspiracy theories to a number of psychopathological conditions such as paranoia, schizotypy, narcissism, and insecure attachment,[4] or to a form of cognitive bias called "illusory pattern perception".[5][6] However, the current scientific consensus holds that most conspiracy theorists are not pathological, but merely exaggerate certain cognitive tendencies that are universal in the human brain and probably have deep evolutionary origins, such as natural inclinations towards anxiety and agent detection.[4]

  1. ^ Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  2. ^ Issitt, Micah; Main, Carlyn (2014). Hidden Religion: The Greatest Mysteries and Symbols of the World's Religious Beliefs. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-61069-478-0.
  3. ^ a b Harambam, Jaron; Aupers, Stef (August 2021). "From the unbelievable to the undeniable: Epistemological pluralism, or how conspiracy theorists legitimate their extraordinary truth claims". European Journal of Cultural Studies. 24 (4). SAGE Publications: 990–1008. doi:10.1177/1367549419886045. hdl:11245.1/7716b88d-4e3f-49ee-8093-253ccb344090. ISSN 1460-3551.
  4. ^ a b Andrade, Gabriel (April 2020). "Medical conspiracy theories: Cognitive science and implications for ethics" (PDF). Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy. 23 (3). Springer on behalf of the European Society for Philosophy of Medicine and Healthcare: 505–518. doi:10.1007/s11019-020-09951-6. ISSN 1572-8633. PMC 7161434. PMID 32301040. S2CID 215787658. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  5. ^ Dean, Signe (23 October 2017). "Conspiracy Theorists Really Do See The World Differently, New Study Shows". Science Alert. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  6. ^ Sloat, Sarah (17 October 2017). "Conspiracy Theorists Have a Fundamental Cognitive Problem, Say Scientists". Inverse. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2020.