Secrecy and conspiracy

What is it about?

When it comes to talk of these things called "conspiracy theories," the least contentious part of the discussion is what counts as a “conspiracy”: a secretive plot between two or more people toward some end. Yet what really is the connection between something being a conspiracy and it being secret? We ask whether it is possible to conspire without secrecy? While conspirators might typically commit to keeping secrets once their conspiracy is underway, the idea that conspiracies are necessarily secretive to start with is not, we argue, obvious.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

We dissect the role of secrecy in conspiracies in order to contribute to the larger debate on the epistemology of conspiracy theories. By looking at how we define the concepts of “conspiracy,” “conspirator,” and “secrecy,” we go on to argue the novel thesis that while conspirators might typically be thought to commit to keeping secrets once their conspiracy is underway, conspiracies are not necessarily secretive to start with.