Conspiracy Narratives as a Type of Social Myth.

IF 1 Q3 POLITICAL SCIENCE
Radek Chlup
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

It has long been recognized that conspiracy narratives may be seen as a special kind of myth. In most cases, however, this is taken as a sign of their irrational and unsubstantiated nature. I argue that mythical modes of reasoning are actually far more pervasive in modern political and cultural discourse than we commonly admit and that the difference between mainstream discourse and conspiracy narratives is not one between "rational" and "mythical" thought but rather one between different types of mythical thinking. The specific nature of conspiracy myths is best understood in relation to two other types of social myths: political myths and fictional myths. Conspiracy myths are a hybrid of these two genres: like fictional myths, they make use of imaginative elements, but like political myths, they are understood as having a relatively straightforward relation to reality and not just a metaphorical one. They are essentially anti-systemic, and their chief ethos is that of distrust. Nevertheless, the degree to which they reject the system varies, and it is thus useful to distinguish between weaker and stronger conspiracy myths. While the latter reject the system altogether and are incompatible with political myths, the former are capable of co-operating with them.

Abstract Image

阴谋叙事是一种社会神话。
人们早就认识到,阴谋论可能被视为一种特殊的神话。然而,在大多数情况下,这被视为其非理性和未经证实的性质的标志。我认为,神话推理模式实际上在现代政治和文化话语中比我们通常承认的要普遍得多,主流话语和阴谋叙事之间的区别不是“理性”和“神话”思想之间的区别,而是不同类型的神话思维之间的区别。阴谋神话的具体性质最好结合另外两种类型的社会神话来理解:政治神话和虚构神话。阴谋神话是这两种类型的混合体:与虚构神话一样,它们利用了想象力,但与政治神话一样,他们被理解为与现实有着相对直接的关系,而不仅仅是隐喻性的关系。他们本质上是反系统的,他们的主要精神是不信任。然而,他们拒绝该系统的程度各不相同,因此区分较弱和较强的阴谋神话是有用的。虽然后者完全拒绝这一制度,与政治神话不相容,但前者有能力与他们合作。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
2.80
自引率
0.00%
发文量
21
期刊介绍: The International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society welcomes original articles on issues arising at the intersection of nations, states, civil societies, and global institutions and processes. The editors are particularly interested in article manuscripts dealing with changing patterns in world economic and political institutions; analysis of ethnic groups, social classes, religions, personal networks, and special interests; changes in mass culture, propaganda, and technologies of communication and their social effects; and the impact of social transformations on the changing order of public and private life. The journal is interdisciplinary in orientation and international in scope, and is not tethered to particular theoretical or research traditions. The journal presents material of varying length, from research notes to article-length monographs.
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