Episode 28: Epistemic Gulag Archipelago Not Conformed

Episode 28 was recorded shortly after another strict lockdown was implemented in Ontario, Canada, in order to mitigate a putative third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The episode begins with a discussion of the covid-related oppression of GraceLife church by the health authorities in Alberta, Canada. We then continue with an analysis of how social scientists view conspiracy theories. We note that in general, social and political scientists view conspiracy theories as problematic and they characterize those who hold such theories as having a whole host of negative personality characteristics and dubious political motives. To solve the putative problems associated with conspiracy theories, some social scientists advocate banning conspiracy theories, censoring conspiracy theorists, infiltrating and disrupting communities that hold conspiracy theories, re-educating the population to never question their epistemic authorities, and convincing people to defer to sanctioned experts. We discuss the problems with these proposals and explain why conspiracy theorizing is a healthy component of democratic societies and how it helps prevent tyranny.