What causes the paranoid style of American public opinion? - EVENT CANCELLED

Please note: this event has been CANCELLED

Tue 18 November 2014

Wolfson College

A public talk by Professor Eric Oliver (Chicago).

A majority of Americans belief 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.

Cost: free