CFP: The 1st International Conference on the Philosophy of Conspiracy Theory (5-7th of February, 2022)

In the last decade there has been an explosion of literature on conspiracy theories in Philosophy. This work has largely built upon earlier work from the late nineties, work which was pioneered by Charles Pigden in “Popper Revisited, or What Is Wrong With Conspiracy Theories?” and Brian L. Keeley’s “Of Conspiracy Theories.” Scholars who responded to this work in the first decade of the 21st Century—including David Coady, Lee Basham, Neil Levy, Steve Clarke, and the like—built upon the early work, which has lead, in the words of Patrick Stokes, “[A] small but illuminating literature has emerged over the last decade, focusing almost entirely on the status of conspiracy theory as an epistemic problem and attempting to determine whether and under what conditions conspiracy beliefs might be warranted. Quite astonishingly, something like a broad consensus has emerged: regarded simply as explanations, conspiracy theories are not intrinsically irrational, and believing in conspiracy explanations is not necessarily unwarranted..”

Now, at the start of the third decade of philosophical work on conspiracy theory, we are seeing work which either builds upon the consensus, or seeks to challenge it by arguing that there really is something wrong or irrational with belief in conspiracy theories.

This conference seeks to not only present the best of this new work, but also draw attention to the early work which motivates it through paper presentations and panel discussions by established scholars in the field.

Conference details:

The conference will held solely online, and the language of the conference will be English.

The conference will be a mix of paper presentations (25-30 minutes per talk, plus time for Q&A afterwards) and panel presentations.

In order to maximise participation, the first day of the conference will start at 8am China Standard Time (UTC+8) whilst the second day will start at 4pm China Standard Time (UTC+8).

Depending on the number of submissions, the conference might extend to a third day (Sunday the 7th).

Submitting a paper:

Abstracts should be between 800 to 1000 words.

Please ensure that in the subject heading of your email you include the following: BNUZ CT Conference

Submissions are to be anonymised: the submission (a text file) should include the name of the paper, the abstract, and whether you are faculty, a graduate student, or an independent scholar. Please do not include your name or your university's name; this should only appear in the accompanying email. Make sure to include any contact information you deem necessary, as well as where you are likely to be in February 2022 (in order to arrange a suitable presentation time).

Submissions are being anonymised to ensure we have a mixture of emerging and established scholars presenting. Independent scholars are encouraged to apply.

Submitters should be aware that due to the political culture in China, examples of conspiracies or conspiracy theories should be restricted to those about the Global West. Please contact the convenor, Associate Professor M R. X. Dentith if you are unsure about the examples you want to use in your presentation.

Titles and abstracts should be sent to: [email protected]

Registration:

To register to attend the conference please send an email to: [email protected]

Please register by January 31st. Places might be limited.

Provisional timetable for papers:

Submissions for paper abstracts opens: October 15th, 2021

Submissions for paper abstract closes: December 1st, 2021

Notice of paper abstracts accepted: December 13th, 2021

Registration for attendance closes: January 31st, 2022