Título: Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational
Autor: Michael Shermer
Sinopse: "A well-written and essential tool for those navigating today's complicated geopolitical landscape."—Library Journal Best-selling author Michael Shermer presents an overarching theory of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them.
Nothing happens by accident, everything is connected, and there are no coincidences: that is the essence of conspiratorial thinking. Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted by the mysterious group QAnon. But this is only the latest example in a long history of ideas that include the satanic panics of the 1980s, the New World Order and Vatican conspiracy theories, fears about fluoridated water, speculations about President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and the notions that the Sandy Hook massacre was a false-flag operation and 9/11 was an inside job.
In Conspiracy, Michael Shermer presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Trust in conspiracy theories, he writes, cuts across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status—and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial: elections have been rigged (LBJ's 1948 Senate race); medical professionals have intentionally harmed patients in their care (Tuskegee); your government does lie to you (Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Afghanistan); and, tragically, some adults do conspire to sexually abuse children. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control play a role in conspiratorial cognition patterns, as do certain personality traits.
This engaging book will be an important read for anyone concerned about the future direction of American politics, as well as anyone who's watched friends or family fall into patterns of conspiratorial thinking.
Contexto da obra
Como livro em inglês, esta obra costuma ganhar também uma camada própria de interesse editorial e linguístico. “Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational”, de Michael Shermer, publicado pela editora Johns Hopkins University Press, em 2024 e com 376 páginas, integra a categoria Livros em Inglês. Por isso, o interesse da obra tende a se ampliar quando o leitor considera também a relação com a língua em que ela circula.
Editora: Johns Hopkins University Press
Páginas: 376
Ano: 2024
Edição:
Linguagem: en
ISBN: 1421449072
ISBN13: 9781421449074
Sobre a editora
Os livros da editora Johns Hopkins University Press costumam explorar temas complexos com rigor acadêmico e clareza acessível, mesclando narrativas históricas, análises políticas e estudos científicos. A experiência de leitura varia entre obras que detalham processos sociais e políticos, como determinantes da saúde pública, e aquelas que mergulham em histórias culturais, como relatos sobre cultos populares ou agitações políticas antigas. O tom é frequentemente didático e informativo, com textos que equilibram dados técnicos e relatos humanos, o que sugere um público interessado em aprofundar-se em questões sociais, históricas e científicas com uma abordagem fundamentada. O catálogo apresenta obras que vão do relato pessoal e compassivo sobre doenças crônicas à investigação crítica de fenômenos históricos, com ritmo que pode ser tanto reflexivo quanto envolvente, dependendo do tema.
