Tuesday, May 6th
4:30 – 6:00 PM
Humanities Auditorium
El铆s Miller-Larsen, UVM
For all their faults, conspiracy theorists appear to 鈥渄o their own research,鈥� seemingly embodying the virtues of independent thinking. Conspiracy thinking can be reasons-responsive鈥攊t often cites evidence and constructs elaborate theories鈥攜et remains closed off to genuine reevaluation. As Quassim Cassam argues, such mindsets may stem from 鈥渆pistemic vices鈥� like closed-mindedness, carelessness, or gullibility. But this kind of character-based explanation views the problem from the outside. It fails to explain how such thinkers can see themselves as critically engaged, even while their thinking remains constrained. This talk draws on a broader model of rule-guided cognition to explain how conspiracy theorists can become trapped from within鈥攂y ways of thinking that seem reasonable from the inside but quietly block real openness. The result is an agent-centered account that links intellectual virtues to structural conditions, offering new ways to engage conspiracists and support self-directed inquiry.