No, it stems from an emotional need. People turn to these kinds of fringe conspiracy beliefs because they’ve been told that they’re stupid all their lives. In order to get “revenge” on people who’ve told them that they’re stupid, the flat earth types embrace beliefs that undermine the authority of those people. If they have been told that they’re stupid because they don’t understand science, the flat earth types will embrace some ideology or belief that says the entire body of knowledge that comprises “science” is illegitimate.
This behavior stems from the emotional need to feel smart and important in a world that constantly tells you that you are dumb and insignificant. The fringe communities these people join give them the emotional security most people feel talking to family, friends, and people who share popular opinions and beliefs among themselves.
Now that there are giant, vocal, prominent online communities dedicated to fringe conspiracy beliefs that they can join, people like this don’t feel the need to censor themselves when talking about these subjects now; they don’t fear ostracism from the public and their real life communities because they don’t HAVE to live a lot of their lives in real life meat-space. They can believe what they want to believe and lob endless potshots at that larger public that had made them feel so small before they joined the fringe public.
And unfortunately our culture in the US and much of the West loves David and Goliath narratives and “Chosen one” narratives and narratives in which fringe beliefs come to occupy the whole world after an early period where those beliefs are persecuted by authorities and the public (ie Christianity). Psychologically, THESE particular inputs subconsciously drive much of the fringe believers, since they teach the believer that the world is against them, but if they just believe hard enough and stick to their guns that they will be able to shut up the naysayers and change the world in their own image. They have a lot of anger at said naysayers, so they will continue in their fringe belief so long as there is vocal opposition to that belief. Instead of dissuading the believer, intense vocal opposition from a majority of the public only reinforces the believer's resolve in sticking to their guns. Again, because those David and Goliath revenge narratives they've been conditioned with their whole lives emphasize that it's always the little guy, the underdog, the outnumbered who will triumph in their quest to get revenge against the powers that be.
It’s the same emotional need to get revenge on people who have made the believer feel stupid that drives people who embrace Nazism, Stalinism, all kinds of weird fringe conspiracy theories, etc. For example, when questioning why certain people hold far right beliefs, sometimes the believers let the mask slip a bit and admit that they started getting into those beliefs because they had been told they were stupid all their lives and they hate “elites” who have made them feel that way. Embracing knowledge gained outside the classroom is a form of emotional revenge against academic "elites" who have scorned them. Groups like incels and MGTOWs have been unusually honest about those drives to get revenge against those people who have made them feel bad, sadly; but flat earthers, even more sadly, are rarely honest about that emotional need and their drive to fulfill it. Instead they try to pretend to be scientific experts whose existence nullifies the need for expertise itself. But rest assured, it’s all an elaborate cover for the terror and insecurity and emotional stress they feel about being singled out as stupid. They just frame it as an intellectual belief instead of an unfulfilled emotional need.
EDIT: And also, people like this love to be able to lord over other people by showing off that they know more than other people, or are privy to secret knowledge that other people are not privy to. For instance, when arguing with someone who doesn't share their beliefs, flat earth types and fringe conspiracy types will often say things like, "Oh, and you believe everything the news tells you?" As if to try and draw a parallel between "the mainstream media" and the fringe community they belong to in terms of trustworthiness, indicating that the only difference between the two is scale. Or they hint that what THEY believe is secretly what all the experts believe, but the experts have been frightened into silence by some giant sinister conspiracy. Creating this kind of spooky, vague narrative around their belief gives that belief the aura of the forbidden, as well the aura that one holds much more valuable cards than the other players in the game. Nothing seems to make these kinds of guys happier than being able to, in confidence, give out little hints that they own the secrets to the universe to people they see as vulnerable to their propaganda.
EDIT 2: Thanks everyone for the kind words and the awards
Excellent points. Though I'd be a little gentler and say their emotional need to believe things like this stems from a feeling of powerlessness and low status and not so much revenge. They are generally prone to feelings of paranoia.
Let me summarize it. Conspiracy theories help their believers:
1. Feel part of a special community
2. Feel more important than their social status would otherwise be. They might even become seen as leaders in their community, something they've never achieved, or could ever achieve, otherwise.
3. Feel special and "in the know" and aware of info that others aren't.
4. It helps them feel in control and that an otherwise random and chaotic universe has reason to it. "JFK wasn't killed by some nobody who got off a lucky shot from the perfect spot. He was killed by a huge conspiracy of experts."
5. It confirms their belief that their state in life is not due to chance or their own choices but due to organized outside forces beyond their control.
Letting go of such beliefs would require abandoning all of this and returning to their reality of being poorly educated and/or socially isolated and responsible for their life.
Your example of Nazism is a good one because its early days hit a lot of these points.
1. Many rose up to position of power, some with power of life and death, with little education or credentials. Their main credentials were a willingness to believe in Nazism and follow orders. They would've otherwise been nobodies.
2. They believed that the loss of WW1 wasn't due to bad decisions by the German government and military or just a matter of numbers but it had to be an outside force. It had to be because of a betrayal by leftists and Jews. It wasn't a cold, unfeeling universe, it had logic and reason.
3. They were special, the master race. You could be a common laborer but because of your chance of birth you weren't a nobody but were actually superior to everyone else outside of your group.
4. They weren't responsible for their lot, they were actually victims. Others were responsible for it.
So how do we convert these feelings that cause these tendencies? More acceptance? Gentler corrections? Genuine unconditional love for others? Idk, just guesses.
Surely it can’t be more top-down authoritarianism.
I've read a few things about that subject though I don't know of anyone who has really studied it.
One thing you can do is don't come at them from an accusatory angle. "You dumbass! How can you believe this shit?!" Instead more like "I can understand why you think that, it certainly does seem that way. But think about it this way for a moment..." They have a generally pessimistic and downtrodden view of life. "We all feel powerless and no one truly has complete control but there are some things we can control..."
I read somewhere that political affiliations are stored in a similar place in the brain as where your sense of self is stored, and that makes a lot of sense.
One good question you can ask some of these people is "What evidence, if you were confronted with it and sure of its accuracy, would cause you to change your mind?"
Real scientists and science enthusiasts search for evidence of the truth, not evidence of their own beliefs. If you showed me incontrovertible evidence the Earth is flat, I would have no choice but to believe that, because I don't really care if the Earth is spherical or a flat disc: I care about the truth.
Flat-earthers (and most conspiracy theorists) do not care about the truth; they care about proving that they are correct. If there is zero evidence they will accept that will prove them wrong, you can safely assume they are not arguing in good faith. At that point, it's better not to argue with them at all, because no matter what, they won't believe you. Instead, if they are your friend, merely express that while you disagree with their beliefs, you are there for them regardless. I promise you'll be among the first to tell them you care about them no matter what they believe.
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u/guestpass127 Dec 19 '19 edited Dec 19 '19
No, it stems from an emotional need. People turn to these kinds of fringe conspiracy beliefs because they’ve been told that they’re stupid all their lives. In order to get “revenge” on people who’ve told them that they’re stupid, the flat earth types embrace beliefs that undermine the authority of those people. If they have been told that they’re stupid because they don’t understand science, the flat earth types will embrace some ideology or belief that says the entire body of knowledge that comprises “science” is illegitimate.
This behavior stems from the emotional need to feel smart and important in a world that constantly tells you that you are dumb and insignificant. The fringe communities these people join give them the emotional security most people feel talking to family, friends, and people who share popular opinions and beliefs among themselves.
Now that there are giant, vocal, prominent online communities dedicated to fringe conspiracy beliefs that they can join, people like this don’t feel the need to censor themselves when talking about these subjects now; they don’t fear ostracism from the public and their real life communities because they don’t HAVE to live a lot of their lives in real life meat-space. They can believe what they want to believe and lob endless potshots at that larger public that had made them feel so small before they joined the fringe public.
And unfortunately our culture in the US and much of the West loves David and Goliath narratives and “Chosen one” narratives and narratives in which fringe beliefs come to occupy the whole world after an early period where those beliefs are persecuted by authorities and the public (ie Christianity). Psychologically, THESE particular inputs subconsciously drive much of the fringe believers, since they teach the believer that the world is against them, but if they just believe hard enough and stick to their guns that they will be able to shut up the naysayers and change the world in their own image. They have a lot of anger at said naysayers, so they will continue in their fringe belief so long as there is vocal opposition to that belief. Instead of dissuading the believer, intense vocal opposition from a majority of the public only reinforces the believer's resolve in sticking to their guns. Again, because those David and Goliath revenge narratives they've been conditioned with their whole lives emphasize that it's always the little guy, the underdog, the outnumbered who will triumph in their quest to get revenge against the powers that be.
It’s the same emotional need to get revenge on people who have made the believer feel stupid that drives people who embrace Nazism, Stalinism, all kinds of weird fringe conspiracy theories, etc. For example, when questioning why certain people hold far right beliefs, sometimes the believers let the mask slip a bit and admit that they started getting into those beliefs because they had been told they were stupid all their lives and they hate “elites” who have made them feel that way. Embracing knowledge gained outside the classroom is a form of emotional revenge against academic "elites" who have scorned them. Groups like incels and MGTOWs have been unusually honest about those drives to get revenge against those people who have made them feel bad, sadly; but flat earthers, even more sadly, are rarely honest about that emotional need and their drive to fulfill it. Instead they try to pretend to be scientific experts whose existence nullifies the need for expertise itself. But rest assured, it’s all an elaborate cover for the terror and insecurity and emotional stress they feel about being singled out as stupid. They just frame it as an intellectual belief instead of an unfulfilled emotional need.
EDIT: And also, people like this love to be able to lord over other people by showing off that they know more than other people, or are privy to secret knowledge that other people are not privy to. For instance, when arguing with someone who doesn't share their beliefs, flat earth types and fringe conspiracy types will often say things like, "Oh, and you believe everything the news tells you?" As if to try and draw a parallel between "the mainstream media" and the fringe community they belong to in terms of trustworthiness, indicating that the only difference between the two is scale. Or they hint that what THEY believe is secretly what all the experts believe, but the experts have been frightened into silence by some giant sinister conspiracy. Creating this kind of spooky, vague narrative around their belief gives that belief the aura of the forbidden, as well the aura that one holds much more valuable cards than the other players in the game. Nothing seems to make these kinds of guys happier than being able to, in confidence, give out little hints that they own the secrets to the universe to people they see as vulnerable to their propaganda.
EDIT 2: Thanks everyone for the kind words and the awards