Category Archives: Epistemology

Summary of Uscinski’s, “On Conspiracy Theories: A Primer”

Critical Thinking, Epistemology

© Darrell Arnold Ph.D.– (Reprinted with Permission)

Joseph Uscinski’s Conspiracy Theories: A Primer (Roman & Littlefield, 2019) is a helpful primer, providing, as Uscinski notes in the preface, not a complete picture of conspiracy theories, but a “complete enough picture.” Continue reading Summary of Uscinski’s, “On Conspiracy Theories: A Primer” →

From Democracy to Demagoguery

Epistemology, Politics - 2020 Election

Senator Joseph McCarthy (R), an American demagogue

© Darrell Arnold Ph.D.– (Reprinted with Permission)

In American politics today an extraordinarily large percentage of the population believe not only ideas that disagree with mainstream science but also in conspiracy theories. Continue reading From Democracy to Demagoguery →

Some People Know More Than I Do

Epistemology, History

“I know how unfashionable it is now to acknowledge in life or history any genius loftier than ourselves. Our democratic dogma has leveled not only all voters but all leaders; we delight to show that living geniuses are only mediocrities, and that dead ones are myths. … Since it is contrary to good manners to exalt ourselves, we achieve the same result by slyly indicating how inferior are the great men of the earth.” ~ Will Durant (The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time) Continue reading Some People Know More Than I Do →

Can We Know Anything with Certainty?

Epistemology, Skepticism

Rene Descartes

There are many reasons we might want to philosophize—to become better people, gain self-knowledge, understand the history of thought, etc. But I was drawn to philosophy because I wanted to know, as far as is possible, what was true. This sentiment echoes the first sentence of the first book in my very first college philosophy class, way back in 1973. Continue reading Can We Know Anything with Certainty? →