I dislike this definition of a conspiracy theory. It tacks on way more meaning to the phrase than it contains on its own, forcing someone to know the definition you’re using, and allowing motte and bailey behavior (you call a conspiracy theory a conspiracy theory to discredit it because by definition it is not epistemically sound, but then when provided evidence for it you say ‘well it’s a theory about a conspiracy, so it’s a conspiracy theory’. I’m not saying you would do that, just that defining it like so allows that.)
It’s better to keep “conspiracy theory” as “a theory about a conspiracy”, and then discuss which ones are legitimate and which ones aren’t.
That’s a very reasonable concern. But I don’t think your proposal describes how people use the term “conspiracy theory” most of the time. Note that the reverse can happen too, where people dismiss an idea as a “conspiracy theory” merely because it’s a theory about a conspiracy. Perhaps we just have to accept that there are two meanings and be explicit about which one we’re talking about.
I dislike this definition of a conspiracy theory. It tacks on way more meaning to the phrase than it contains on its own, forcing someone to know the definition you’re using, and allowing motte and bailey behavior (you call a conspiracy theory a conspiracy theory to discredit it because by definition it is not epistemically sound, but then when provided evidence for it you say ‘well it’s a theory about a conspiracy, so it’s a conspiracy theory’. I’m not saying you would do that, just that defining it like so allows that.)
It’s better to keep “conspiracy theory” as “a theory about a conspiracy”, and then discuss which ones are legitimate and which ones aren’t.
That’s a very reasonable concern. But I don’t think your proposal describes how people use the term “conspiracy theory” most of the time. Note that the reverse can happen too, where people dismiss an idea as a “conspiracy theory” merely because it’s a theory about a conspiracy. Perhaps we just have to accept that there are two meanings and be explicit about which one we’re talking about.