Inoculating Students Against Conspiracy Theories: The Case of Covid-19

Abstract

Posing a significant danger to society are conspiracy theories, particularly those regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper argues for the crucial role of critical thinking education in ‘inoculating’ students against conspiracy theories and outlines an approach for building their defenses against these, and other, conspiracy theories. There are numerous epistemic, social, and psychological factors which play a role in the attraction of conspiracy theories and which need to be addressed in critical thinking education. Epistemic factors include myside bias, the ignorance of epistemic criteria, a lack of understanding of source credibility, and the particular epistemic traps of conspiracy theories. Social factors, including the structure of the information environment and psychological factors, including the desire for control, defensive bias, and cultural cognition also play a role. The paper describes how critical thinking education can address the epistemic shortcomings and errors which facilitate conspiracy belief and can provide students with the resources for inquiring in a rigorous and systematic way and for making reasoned judgment. It also outlines how the social and psychological factors can be addressed by creating a community of inquiry in the class that can counter these influences and foster a spirit of inquiry.