Conspiracy Theories from a Philosophical, Sociological and Communicative Point of View

Abstract

The article reviews the scientific conference ‘Conspiracy Theories from a Philosophical, Sociological and Communicative Point of View’ held at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. At the conference, the following topics were examined from the perspective of various social sciences and humanities: conditions and reasons for the emergence of conspiracy theories, artistic-aesthetic aspects of conspiracy theories, Athenian ostracism as a conspiracy against an individual, parallels between quantum physics and conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories and the esoteric lifestyle, conspiracy theory as a tool of social and political censorship, conspiracy theories as a response to imposed propaganda, conspiracy theories in the educational system, socio-political origins of conspiracy theories, psychological factors of belief in conspiracy theories and trust in science, conspiracy theories as language games, the symbolic religious world as a source of conspiracy theory, etc. The article reflects the course of the conference, discussing the main thoughts of the conference participants – with some of these thoughts being debated.