David Smith interviewed in CBC-TV documentary 'Conspiracy Rising'

David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., associate professor of philosophy, is interviewed in a CBC-TV documentary 'Conspiracy Rising' that is scheduled to air in Canada  Oct. 20 and 21, 2011.

Set against the global socio-political landscape, 'Conspiracy Rising' uses science and psychology to investigate the causes of conspiracy theories, why we are wired to believe them, and how as a society it is imperative that we separate the fantasies from the real threats.

The documentary suggests that the number of popular conspiracy theories and the speed at which they spread across the globe is a growing cause for concern. More than 1/3 of Americans believe their government did not tell them the truth about 9/11. One third of the British population believes that Princess Diana did not die an accidental death. 'Conspiracy Rising' examines the ways that fearful people find comfort in the order and explanations that conspiracy theories provide. The documentary suggests that conspiracy theories frequently discourage honest discourse, incite racism and persecution and, if unchecked, can threaten the most basic foundations of a democratic society.

Smith is the author of The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War, Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave, and Exterminate Others, and Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind. Smith recently discussed his book Less than Human on NPR's Talk of the Nation and on WCSH6 TV's 207 news magazine.  Read more.
 

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