Some problems with particularism.

Particularists maintain that conspiracy theories are to be assessed individually, while generalists hold that conspiracy theories may be assessed as a class. This paper seeks to clarify the nature and importance of the debate between particularism and generalism, while offering an argument for a ver...

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Publicado en:Synthese Vol. 200; no. 6; pp. 1 - 26
Autor principal: Harris, Keith Raymond
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Dec2022
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        au: Harris, Keith Raymond
        affil: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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        Applied epistemology
        Consensus
        Conspiracy theories
        Epistemic authority
        Pessimistic induction
      ab: Particularists maintain that conspiracy theories are to be assessed individually, while generalists hold that conspiracy theories may be assessed as a class. This paper seeks to clarify the nature and importance of the debate between particularism and generalism, while offering an argument for a version of generalism. I begin by considering three approaches to the definition of conspiracy theory, and offer reason to prefer an approach that defines conspiracy theories in opposition to the claims of epistemic authorities. I argue that particularists rely on an untenably broad definition of conspiracy theory. Then, I argue that particularism and its counterpart are best understood as constellations of theses, rather than a pair of incompatible theses. While some particularist theses are highly plausible, I argue that one important particularist thesis is false. The argument for this conclusion draws on the history of false conspiracy theories. I then defend this conclusion against a pair of potential objections.
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