Ciência e conspiracionismo: fundamentos epistêmicos e psicopolíticos das teorias da conspiração

• Ano de defesa: 2025
• Autor(a) principal: Batista, Sergio Diniz
• Orientador(a): Sandoval, Salvador Antonio Mireles
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia: Psicologia Social
• Departamento: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e da Saúde
• País: Brasil
• Palavras-chave em Português: Teorias conspiratórias; Crise epistêmica; Psicopolítica; Desinformação
• Palavras-chave em Inglês: Conspiracy theories; Epistemic crisis; Psychopolitics; Disinformation
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: CNPQ::CIENCIAS HUMANAS::PSICOLOGIA::PSICOLOGIA SOCIAL
• Link de acesso: https://repositorio.pucsp.br/jspui/handle/handle/45439

This dissertation investigates the epistemic and psychopolitical foundations of conspiracy theories, understanding them as complex phenomena that articulate cognitive, political, social, and informational dimensions. Opposing the so-called “pathologizing paradigm” — which reduces conspiracism to irrational individual traits —, this study proposes a multidimensional approach that considers the historical context, the epistemic crisis of science, the transformation of the informational sphere through platformization, and the political instrumentalization of conspiratorial beliefs under neoliberal rationality. The analysis starts from the premise that conspiracism is not an individual deviation but a cultural and political response to the dismantling of traditional sources of authority and meaning. For this, the dissertation is structured around four main axes: (1) the epistemic crisis of modern science and its social contestation; (2) the collapse of traditional informational mediations and the reconfiguration of trust in digital environments; (3) the political mobilization of conspiracy theories as a political weapon and a rhetoric of cultural warfare; and (4) the internalized conceptions of science that shape individuals' susceptibility to misinformation/disinformation. Based on a transdisciplinary literature review — anchored to authors such as Cesarino, Han, Empoli, Sandoval, and Gergen —, the dissertation argues that belief in conspiracy theories reflects a process of subjectivation marked by neoliberal logic, by platform dynamics, and by the weakening of institutional recognition. It also suggests a critical understanding of such beliefs requires analyzing the disputes over the legitimacy of knowledge and scientific authority in the post-truth era. This research contributes to the field of Social Psychology by connecting epistemology, politics, and the informational sciences, offering insights into the development of strategies to counter misinformation and affective manipulation in contemporary truth regimes