| 18 Nov 2014 | 5:00pm - 7:00pm | Gatsby Room, Wolfson College | |
- Description
Description
A public lecture by Professor Eric Oliver (Chicago).
A majority of Americans believe in conspiracy theories, angels, ESP, and other supernatural phenomena. Most commentators tend to dismiss such “enchanted” thinking as irrational This talk examines how such phenomena arise from the emotional power of common metaphors and heuristics used for much of our reasoning. Conspiracy theories are particularly attractive as explanations for many common events because they often utilize these emotionally resonant cues. I'll discuss how many common and innocuous inferential patterns underlie support for conspiracy theories and a host of other “transgressive” beliefs.
The talk will be followed by a wine reception.
This is part of a series of public talks from the Leverhulme-funded project Conspiracy and Democracy. More information at http://www.conspiracyanddemocracy.org
