| Residential College | false |
| Status | 已發表Published |
| Obscurantist Epistemic Manipulation | |
BENJAMIN IAN WINOKUR 
| |
| 2024-11 | |
| Size of Audience | 3 |
| Type of Speaker | Invited Lecturer |
| Abstract | In this paper I elucidate an epistemically manipulative species of obscurantism. This is a form of epistemic manipulation by which the victim is caused to doubt her hermeneutical competencies, owing to the fact that she has tried and failed to interpret an obscure qua nonsensical piece of speech or text that appears, nevertheless, as deep, significant, or profound. In refining my analysis of obscurantism, I offer analyses of two ways in which obscure nonsense can exasperate interpreters’ hermeneutical efforts without being exposed as the very nonsense that it is. I then discuss how obscurantism can be used in concert with another epistemic manipulation strategy to create especially pernicious cognitive traps for would-be victims. Specifically, I argue that obscurantists will sometimes change their strategy so as to speak with exceptional clarity rather than exceptional unclarity, thus inducing misleading impressions of epistemic authority in their victims. Finally, I conclude with some remarks about the epistemic blameworthiness (or lack thereof) that victims have for being duped by obscurantists, and about the intrinsic difficulty of effectively protecting oneself against obscurantism. |
| Keyword | Obscurantism Epistemology Bullshit Gaslighting Heuristics |
| Conference Date | November 8th, 2024 |
| Conference Place | East China Normal University (Minhang, Shanghai) |
| Funding Project | Knowing and Expressing Ourselves |
| Document Type | Presentation |
| Collection | DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES |
| Corresponding Author | BENJAMIN IAN WINOKUR |
| Affiliation | University of Macau |
| First Author Affilication | University of Macau |
| Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | BENJAMIN IAN WINOKUR. Obscurantist Epistemic Manipulation, November 8th, 2024. |
| Files in This Item: | Download All | |||||
| File Name/Size | Publications | Version | Access | License | ||
| (Shanghai 2024) Obsc（3634KB） | 演讲报告 | 开放获取 | CC BY-NC-SA | View Download | ||
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