Erich Fromm – Disobedience: A Moral or Psychological Problem (1962)

Professor-Erich-Fromm-Disobedience-as-a-Psychological-and-Moral-Problem

Secondary literature

Frie, R.. (2003). Erich Fromm and contemporary psychoanalysis: from modernism to postmodernism.. Psychoanalytic Review

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1521/prev.90.6.855.28785
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McLaughlin, N.. (1998). How to become a forgotten intellectual: Intellectual movements and the rise and fall of Erich Fromm. Sociological Forum

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1023/A:1022189715949
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Fromm, E.. (2004). 1929a-e Erich Fromm Psychoanalysis and Sociology. English

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1063/1.4810294
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Rasmussen, B., & Salhani, D.. (2008). Resurrecting erich fromm. Smith College Studies in Social Work

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1080/00377310802111946
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Brookfield, S.. (2002). Overcoming alienation as the practice of adult education: The contribution of Erich Fromm to a critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Education Quarterly

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1177/0741713602052002002
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Davis, H. B.. (2003). Erich Fromm and postmodernism.. Psychoanalytic Review

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1521/prev.90.6.839.28790
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The term “conspiracy theory” as a psycholinguistic tool for memetic hegemony

The conspiracy theory meme as a tool of cultural hegemony: A critical discourse analysis

by Rankin, James Edwin, Jr., Ph.D.

Abstract (Summary)

Those rejecting the official accounts of significant suspicious and impactful events are often labeled conspiracy theorists and the alternative explanations they propose are often referred to as conspiracy theories. These labels are often used to dismiss the beliefs of those individuals who question potentially hegemonic control of what people believe. The conspiracy theory concept functions as an impediment to legitimate discursive examination of conspiracy suspicions. The effect of the label appears to constrain even the most respected thinkers. This impediment is particularly problematic in academia, where thorough, objective analysis of information is critical to uncovering truth, and where members of the academy are typically considered among the most important of epistemic authorities. This dissertation tracked the development and use of such terms as pejoratives used to shut down critical thinking, analysis, and challenges to authority. This was accomplished using critical discourse analysis as a research methodology. Evidence suggesting government agents were instrumental in creating the pejorative meme conspiracy theorist was found in contemporary media. Tracing the evolution of the conspiracy theory meme and its use as a pejorative silencer may heighten awareness of its use in this manner and diminish its impact.

The term “conspiracy theory” was invented and put into public discourse by the CIA in 1964 in order to discredit the many skeptics who challenged the Warren Commission’s conclusion that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald, who himself was assassinated while in police custody before he could be questioned. The CIA used its friends in the media to launch a campaign to make suspicion of the Warren Commission report a target of ridicule and hostility. This campaign was “one of the most successful propaganda initiatives of all time.”

This writes political science professor Lance deHaven-Smith, in his peer-reviewed book which was published by the University of Texas Press. He reports the story of how the CIA succeeded in creating in the public mind uncritical, reflexive, automatic, (System 1) stigmatization of those who challenge official government explanations (cf. ostracism).

Profile photo for

Lance DeHaven-Smith



According to Prof. DeHaven (see lecture above) the term “conspiracy theory” was first used in a scholarly book around 1913 by Charles Beard who used the phrase “the conspiracy theory of the 14th amendment”. DeHaven argues that if a wealthy women died because she fell in the shower and her husband inherits all her money we are automatically suspicious because of the low probability (base rate) of the incidence. If a similar situation happens again and the same husband is involved we are obviously even more suspicious. However, the term “conspiracy theory” prevents rational discourse (and rational thinking). DeHaven suggests the term “state crimes against democracy”. He makes the point that if we do not have a word for a crime it is very difficult to discuss it, especially if argumentators are discredited and ostracized as “conspiracy theorists” and categorized next to flat-earth believers (viz. invalid associations are created to facilitate superficial social categorisation).

Peer reviewed references on conspiracy theories – State crimes against democracy (multiple conspiracies are “organized crime”)

Related References

Elman, J. L.. (1999). Origins of language: A conspiracy theory. The Emergence of Language

Plain numerical DOI: 10.2514/3.19828
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Motter, G.. (2009). Conspiracy theory. EDN

Plain numerical DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.346500
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Miller, J. M., Saunders, K. L., & Farhart, C. E.. (2016). Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning: The Moderating Roles of Political Knowledge and Trust. American Journal of Political Science

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12234
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Swami, V., Coles, R., Stieger, S., Pietschnig, J., Furnham, A., Rehim, S., & Voracek, M.. (2011). Conspiracist ideation in Britain and Austria: Evidence of a monological belief system and associations between individual psychological differences and real-world and fictitious conspiracy theories. British Journal of Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8295.2010.02004.x
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Darwin, H., Neave, N., & Holmes, J.. (2011). Belief in conspiracy theories. The role of paranormal belief, paranoid ideation and schizotypy. Personality and Individual Differences

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.027
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Swami, V.. (2012). Social psychological origins of conspiracy theories: The case of the Jewish conspiracy theory in Malaysia. Frontiers in Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00280
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Wood, M. J., & Douglas, K. M.. (2013). What about building 7?” A social psychological study of online discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories. Frontiers in Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00409
DOI URL
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Newheiser, A. K., Farias, M., & Tausch, N.. (2011). The functional nature of conspiracy beliefs: Examining the underpinnings of belief in the Da Vinci Code conspiracy. Personality and Individual Differences

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.08.011
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Dagnall, N., Drinkwater, K., Parker, A., Denovan, A., & Parton, M.. (2015). Conspiracy theory and cognitive style: A worldview. Frontiers in Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00206
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Xu, Z., Pothula, S. P., Wilson, J. S., & Apte, M. V.. (2014). Pancreatic cancer and its stroma: A conspiracy theory. World Journal of Gastroenterology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i32.11216
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Geertz, C.. (1973). Thick Description: Toward an Interpretative Theory of Culture. In The Interpretation of Cultures

Plain numerical DOI: 10.4135/9781412984591.n6
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Van der Linden, S.. (2015). The conspiracy-effect: Exposure to conspiracy theories (about global warming) decreases pro-social behavior and science acceptance. Personality and Individual Differences

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.07.045
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Wood, M. J.. (2016). Some Dare Call It Conspiracy: Labeling Something a Conspiracy Theory Does Not Reduce Belief in It. Political Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1111/pops.12285
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Pratt, R.. (2003). Theorizing conspiracy. Theory and Society

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1023/A:1023996501425
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Fekete, L.. (2012). The muslim conspiracy theory and the oslo massacre. Race and Class

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1177/0306396811425984
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Raab, M. H., Ortlieb, S. A., Auer, N., Guthmann, K., & Carbon, C. C.. (2013). Thirty shades of truth: Conspiracy theories as stories of individuation, not of pathological delusion. Frontiers in Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00406
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Brotherton, R., French, C. C., & Pickering, A. D.. (2013). Measuring belief in conspiracy theories: The generic conspiracist beliefs scale. Frontiers in Psychology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00279
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Butt, L.. (2005). “Lipstick Girls” and “Fallen Women”: AIDS and Conspiratorial Thinking in Papua, Indonesia. Cultural Anthropology

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1525/can.2005.20.3.412
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Briones, R., Nan, X., Madden, K., & Waks, L.. (2012). When Vaccines Go Viral: An Analysis of HPV Vaccine Coverage on YouTube. Health Communication

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2011.610258
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Phillipson, R.. (2007). Linguistic imperialism: a conspiracy, or a conspiracy of silence?. Language Policy

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1007/s10993-007-9058-3
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Stojanov, A.. (2015). Reducing conspiracy theory beliefs. Psihologija

Plain numerical DOI: 10.2298/PSI1503251S
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Stempel, C., Hargrove, T., & Stempel, G. H.. (2007). Media use, social structure, and belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1177/107769900708400210
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Craft, S., Ashley, S., & Maksl, A.. (2017). News media literacy and conspiracy theory endorsement. Communication and the Public

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1177/2057047317725539
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Gardener, T., & Moffat, J.. (2008). Changing behaviours in defence acquisition: A game theory approach. Journal of the Operational Research Society

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602476
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Sharp, D.. (2008). Advances in conspiracy theory. The Lancet

Plain numerical DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61570-6
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