Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Theory, Culture & Society |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 137-159 |
| ISSN | 0263-2764 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Keywords
- Agamben
- Contemporary politics
- Epistemology
- State of emergency
- Terrorism
- Wittgenstein
Cite this
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Conspiracy Theory : Truth Claim or Language Game? / Bjerg, Ole; Presskorn-Thygesen, Thomas.
In: Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2017, p. 137-159.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Conspiracy Theory
T2 - Truth Claim or Language Game?
AU - Bjerg, Ole
AU - Presskorn-Thygesen, Thomas
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - The paper is a contribution to current debates about conspiracy theories within philosophy and cultural studies. Wittgenstein’s understanding of language is invoked to analyse the epistemological effects of designating particular questions and explanations as a ‘conspiracy theory’. It is demonstrated how such a designation relegates these questions and explanations beyond the realm of meaningful discourse. In addition, Agamben’s concept of sovereignty is applied to explore the political effects of using the concept of conspiracy theory. The exceptional epistemological status assigned to alleged conspiracy theories within our prevalent paradigms of knowledge and truth is compared to the exceptional legal status assigned to individuals accused of terrorism under the War on Terror. The paper concludes by discussing the relation between conspiracy theory and ‘the paranoid style’ in contemporary politics
AB - The paper is a contribution to current debates about conspiracy theories within philosophy and cultural studies. Wittgenstein’s understanding of language is invoked to analyse the epistemological effects of designating particular questions and explanations as a ‘conspiracy theory’. It is demonstrated how such a designation relegates these questions and explanations beyond the realm of meaningful discourse. In addition, Agamben’s concept of sovereignty is applied to explore the political effects of using the concept of conspiracy theory. The exceptional epistemological status assigned to alleged conspiracy theories within our prevalent paradigms of knowledge and truth is compared to the exceptional legal status assigned to individuals accused of terrorism under the War on Terror. The paper concludes by discussing the relation between conspiracy theory and ‘the paranoid style’ in contemporary politics
KW - Agamben
KW - Contemporary politics
KW - Epistemology
KW - State of emergency
KW - Terrorism
KW - Wittgenstein
KW - Agamben
KW - Contemporary politics
KW - Epistemology
KW - State of emergency
KW - Terrorism
KW - Wittgenstein
UR - https://sfx-45cbs.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/45cbs?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info:sid/sfxit.com:azlist&sfx.ignore_date_threshold=1&rft.object_id=954925498076&rft.object_portfolio_id=&svc.holdings=yes&svc.fulltext=yes
U2 - 10.1177/0263276416657880
DO - 10.1177/0263276416657880
M3 - Journal article
VL - 34
SP - 137
EP - 159
JO - Theory, Culture & Society
JF - Theory, Culture & Society
SN - 0263-2764
IS - 1
ER -